Flexible heat pipes for CCD cooling on the Advanced Camera for Surveys

Abstract

The Advanced Camera for Surveys (ACS) is an instrument containing two charged-coupled device (CCD) cameras and a multi-anode multi-channel array (MAMA) detector being built by Ball Aerospace and Technologies Corporation for NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center. The instrument is scheduled to be installed in the Hubble Space Telescope during a space shuttle mission in December of 1999. The CCD detectors need to operate at a temperature below -80 degrees C in order to avoid unacceptable dark current. This cooling is achieved with thermo-electric coolers (TEC) mounted in evacuated assemblies that contain the detectors. Heat that is generated by the TECs must be dissipated to space. Since the CCd assemblies are centrally located within the instrument enclosure, a method must be provided for transferring this heat to a heat rejection surfaces. Heat pipes have been selected for this purpose since they are frequently used in space applications for passively transferring heat from sources to remotely located radiating panels. The alignment of the CCDs is critical, however, so the loads induced into the detectors and the optical bench containing the sensor assemblies through heat pipes must be minimized. Consequently, the CCD heat pipes have been designed with a flexible section to minimize either thermally generated or launch induced structural loads. Structural and thermal testing has shown that these heat pipes will allow the ACS detectors to attain their operating temperature while meeting alignment stability requirements. This paper presents the design of and test results from the ACS flexible heat pipes.