PeTT Vacuum Chamber: Affordable Testing Facility for Lean Satellites

Satellite thermal vacuum test (TVC) is very necessary to check the functional performance of its internal subsystems within appropriate limits, subject to a given range of environmental conditions and operating modes. However, the cost of conventional TVC facilities is expensive and complex to operate and therefore is owned by a few institutions, especially in developing countries. The objective of this paper is to provide a straightforward and affordable Peltier-based Thermal Testing (PeTT) Vacuum Chamber facility for lean satellite testing. The PeTT device consists of 4 multi-stage Peltier elements sandwiched in-between a copper surface plate and water-cooled heat sink to achieve a cold temperature limit of -77 oC. The PeTT device has a mass of 3.4kg and a size 152mm length x 127mm width x 40 mm height having a maximum heat exchange capability of 400W. This paper presents the design and development, components details and cost and the demonstration of the PeTT vacuum chamber using a replica 1U CubeSat