Planck sorption cooler engineering breadboard test report

Abstract

In order to validate the sorption cooler flight design, an Engineering Breadboard (EBB) cooler was developed. Testing of the EBB cooler began in January, 2002, and ended in May, 2003. Throughout this period, the cooler was operated for a total of 4300 hours, during which its performance was verified with respect to the flight requirements. Prior to its construction, all of its components and sub-assemblies were tested individually. Interaction among these subsystems was yet to be validated. The EBB provided this system test prior to the construction of the flight models. In addition, operation of the EBB was used to develop robust operational algorithms, which were implemented in the flight prototype electronics. The prototype electronics were validated by testing with the EBB cooler. All the components for the flight cooler have been built to be functionally equivalent to those of the EBB, with a few exceptions. For this reason, the subassembly interactions and performance in the EBB are considered to be representative of those expected of the flight models. The impact of the differences between the EBB and flight models will be assessed in the following sections. All lessons learned from the EBB tests were implemented in the design and operation of the flight cooler.