Control System for Space Environment Simulation Chamber

TITLE Control System for Space Environment Simulation Chamber INVESTIGATORS PI: Assistant Professor John F. Maddox, University of Kentucky ABSTRACT The proposed research activity will be the development of a control system for a space environment simulation chamber received by the University of Kentucky from NASA Langley Research Center (LaRC) through the Stevenson-Wydler Act in November 2019. The chamber was constructed in 1999 to investigate the thermal properties of insulation materials used in thermal protection systems (TPS) during atmospheric reentry. The hardware has been confirmed to be fully functional, however, the system was received without a functioning control system because the original configuration is now obsolete. The development of a new control system for this facility will enable it’s use for both new experimental campaigns and the support of current research involving ablation and CubeSats.