Methodological Approaches to the Design of a Mobile Test Facility Simulating the Outer Space

Abstract The article presents the results of the analysis of methodological approaches to the development of a mobile space simulator test facility following a low-budget project under the conditional name Metamorphosis. The project was performed at the Institute of Aeronautics of Riga Technical University together with Cryogenic and Vacuum Systems Ltd., a company specializing in the development and production of vacuum and cryogenic equipment, with extensive experience in creating technologies used in space research, and development and exploitation of the space environment simulation. The main aim of the study is to find an inexpensive outer space simulator test facility. The study shows that the liquid helium, hydrogen, and neon are significantly more expensive substances than liquid nitrogen, liquid carbon dioxide, liquid ammonia, and organic refrigerants (as well as equipment for their liquefaction). It is desirable to consider a nitrogen system for cooling the workspace due to the physical properties of nitrogen and cheap refrigerants for a projected low-cost simulator test facility. The description of the systems that should be included in the projected mobile space simulator is provided in the article. A generalized scheme of the simulator based on a cryogenic system is also presented.