Lockheed Martin Missiles and Fire Control - Dallas is under contract to design and develop the large-scale heat rejection system (HRS) radiator and the photovoltaic radiator (PVR) assemblies for the International Space Station.
The International Space Station (ISS), currently being assembled on-orbit, is a large, hospitable, permanent human outpost in space. When complete, its size will equal the interior space of three 747 aircraft and weighs more than a million pounds. In addition to providing facilities where an international crew of seven astronaut-scientists can live and work in space, it will provide important laboratory research facilities for performing basic research in life sciences, biomedical and material sciences, as well as space and engineering technology development which cannot be accomplished on Earth.
The company produced and delivered six 2,470-pound HRS radiator assemblies and four 1650-pound PVR assemblies to NASA. The HRS Radiators comprise two wings of three assemblies each, one on either side of the ISS main truss. Each HRS assembly consists of eight panels measuring 9 ft. x 11 ft. When retracted in the launch configuration -- folded accordion fashion -- the radiator assemblies will fit easily into the payload bay of the Space Shuttle Orbiter. When attached to the ISS in orbit, each HRS assembly will extend to 11 ft. x 75 ft. via an electric motor driven "scissor" mechanism.
Each HRS assembly is capable of rejecting at least 11.8 kilowatts of excess ISS heat, thereby providing cooling to the crew compartment, spacecraft subsystems and experiments. The Lockheed Martin Missiles and Fire Control - Dallas-produced radiator assemblies will mate with a pumped liquid ammonia heat transfer system to cool the ISS crew and equipment.
The radiator panels are made of an aluminum bonded honeycomb material with imbedded freeze tolerant Inconel flow tubes and painted with a white ceramic material selected to withstand the space environment.
Each HRS assembly is designed to have a 10-year life. Lockheed Martin Missiles and Fire Control - Dallas is a subcontractor to Boeing -- Huntington Beach, Calif., formally McDonnell Douglas, on the program.
The company also produced four photovoltaic radiator assemblies for cooling the current early ISS systems, as well as the ISS photovoltaic electrical power system components. The four 1650-pound PVRs consist of seven 6 ft. x 11 ft. panels, again deployed by an electric motor driven "scissor" mechanism. The PVRs also internally flow liquid ammonia coolant and are made of the same material as the HRSs. Each PVR will be capable of rejecting at least nine kilowatts of excess heat.
The launch of the first three PVRs aboard the Space Shuttle Endeavour occurred on November 30, 2000, with their successful deployments occurring on December 3 and 5, 2000, and February 14, 2001. The two launches of the six HRS Radiators are scheduled for 2002, followed by the launch of the fourth PVR in late 2002.
Work on the radiator assemblies is being performed principally at the division's headquarters in Dallas. Under the leadership of NASA, the ISS program will place unique scientific laboratories in space to enable high value research bettering the quality of life on Earth. NASA is joined in this effort by the space agencies of Europe, Canada, Japan and Russia, making the Space Station the largest peaceful, cooperative international science project ever.
Boeing Defense & Space Group is NASA's prime contractor for the Space Station, assisting the space agency in management of the Houston-based program and directing a nationwide contractor team co-anchored by their divisions at Canoga Park, Calif., Huntington Beach, Calif., and Huntsville, Ala.
Heat Rejection Radiators is a trademark of Lockheed Martin Corporation.
