Three Lockheed Martin-produced Heat Rejection
Subsystem (HRS) radiators were launched aboard the Space Shuttle Endeavour
Saturday destined for the International Space Station (ISS).
The radiators send excess heat from inside the Space Station’s pressurized
modules into space, providing a comfortable environment for astronauts to
live, work and conduct scientific experiments.
Lockheed Martin has produced more than 21,000 pounds of deployable radiators
at its Missiles and Fire Control facility in Grand Prairie, Texas.
“The International Space Station is a critical scientific platform for our
nation and for our planet,” said Harold Howell, engineering project manager
for Lockheed Martin Missiles and Fire Control. “There are now nine Lockheed
Martin radiators on the Space Station, which has tremendous potential for
scientific discovery. It’s rewarding to know that the radiators produced
here in the Dallas/Fort Worth metroplex will play such an important role in
the success of the Space Station.”
Lockheed Martin is under contract to The Boeing Company to produce six HRS
and five Photovoltaic Radiator (PVR) radiators for the ISS. Three PVRs have
been successfully operating on the Station for nearly two years, along with
the three HRS radiators launched in October 2002. The two final PVRs are
expected to make their journey from Kennedy Space Center to the Space
Station in late 2003 and early 2004.
The HRS radiators work in a fashion similar to the way a radiator cools a
car engine. Heat within the modules is collected at various points and
transferred into fluid (99.9 percent pure liquid ammonia) that enters the
radiator through pipes on one side and is distributed to 22 tubes crossing
each of eight panels in a radiator array. As the fluid flows through each
panel, heat is radiated off into space, thus cooling the fluid. The cooler
fluid flows out the other side of the radiator and back to ISS, where it
cools the astronauts and equipment. This process is repeated continuously to
provide the required cooling.
With participation of 16 countries, the International Space Station is the
largest international peacetime scientific program in history. Once
complete, the ISS will have a length of 360 feet and a width of 290 feet,
and will be visible from Earth on a clear day or evening with the naked eye.
The average orbit altitude is 220 miles, with an orbital speed of 17,500
miles per hour. The station orbits the Earth 18 times per day.
Lockheed Martin Missiles and Fire Control produces the Heat Rejection and
Photovoltaic Radiators for the ISS, as well as the Nose Cone, Chin Panel and
Wing Leading Edges of the Space Shuttle.
Lockheed Martin Missiles and Fire Control develops, manufactures and
integrates world-class air defense, fire support, strike weapon, naval
munition, combat vision, anti-armor and advanced product solutions and
systems for U.S. and international armed forces. Headquartered in Bethesda,
Md., Lockheed Martin is a global enterprise principally engaged in the
research, design, development, manufacture and integration of advanced
technology systems products and services.
