Liquid helium servicing from the space station

Abstract

The current concept of liquid helium resupply from the space station is discussed with regard to user and space station requirements, as well as requirements of the liquid helium servicing facility itself. A number of trade-offs which will affect both the hardware and the operation of the facility are presented. A total of 12 potential users have been identified. The users are divided into two groups: large volume users which are serviced every one to two years and small volume users which are serviced every few months. Both groups have a very strong impact on the definition of the liquid helium servicing facility. The facility components will be based on results of the Superfluid Helium On Orbit Transfer flight demonstration being conducted by NASA. Currently, the space station design includes a customer servicing bay which provides electrical power, thermal and contamination control, and connections for control and data handling systems. Restrictions on venting and vibrational disturbances on the space station may preclude servicing during quiescent periods when accelerations are minimal.