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  • Squid skin inspires research on next-generation space blanket

    Next-generation space blankets could be made of a thermoregulatory material inspired by the functioning of squid skin, which changes color.

    • Publication date : 2019/05/29
  • News from the space: ammonia air conditioning for International Space Station

    Astronauts from the space shuttle Discovery completed a 6-hour spacewalk outside the International Space Station in September 2009, installing a new ammonia refrigerant tank. They removed an 816 kg ammonia tank from a cargo carrier attached to the...

    • Publication date : 2009/12/09
  • CAL - NASA’s Space Cryocooler

    NASA’s new facility, Cold Atom Lab (CAL), expected to reach effective temperatures down to 100 pico-Kelvin (pK), will be used for the study of ultra-cold quantum gases in the microgravity environment on the International Space Station (ISS). (en...

    • Publication date : 2014/07/03
  • NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope

    Cryogenic testing has now been completed for the final 6 primary mirror segments and a secondary mirror that will fly on NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope.

    • Publication date : 2012/08/03
  • Chicago Spire skyscraper

    The Chicago Spire skyscraper is to be built in Chicago, USA. The 7-sided tapering, twisting tower was designed by the Spanish architect Santiago Calatrava. The 150-floor 278 709 m² building is being developed by Garrett Kelleher of Shelbourne...

    • Publication date : 2008/01/23
  • Brief: Freezer in space

    Leonardo, the Multi-Purpose Logistics Module used to transport payloads to the cargo bay of the Space Shuttle Atlantis on mission STS-121 contains a freezer called MELFI (Minus Eighty Degree Laboratory Freezer). MELFI, provided by the European...

    • Publication date : 2005/07/19
  • Briefs: Walking in space

    Interested in spacesuits? Spacesuits have to protect the human body from the extreme conditions encountered in space where temperatures can range from 135°C in direct sunlight to -82°C in areas of shadow. Cooling during spacewalking is provided...

    • Publication date : 2007/02/12
  • News from the space: Hubble

    Following repairs to its cooling system, NASA's Hubble Space Telescope is back in business, uncovering new worlds, peering deeper into space, and mapping the invisible backbone of the universe. The first images from the refurbished Hubble showcase...

    • Publication date : 2009/12/09
  • Briefs: Cryocooling in outer space

    MELFI (Minus Eighty degrees Celsius Laboratory Freezer) has been developed for the International Space Station (ISS) under a European Space Agency (ESA) contract for NASA. It is used to preserve biological and scientific samples until they return...

    • Publication date : 2007/11/20
  • Changes in the use of cryogenic propellants in space

    Near-term exploration beyond low Earth orbit will require the use of cryogenic propellants and in-space cryogenic propellant storage durations will exceed our current capabilities by at least two orders of magnitude. This will require the...

    • Publication date : 2012/09/17
  • The heart inspires a new cooling system

    In August 2004, at the Micro Nano Breakthrough Conference in Portland, engineers from Oregon State University in the US, presented a new successful desorption system using branching microchannels. The system was inspired by the human blood pumping...

    • Publication date : 2004/09/14
  • Cryogenic applications: Cooling largest outer-space telescope

    In his presentation on cryogenics applications at the IIR-AFF centenary conference in Paris (see Focus), Philippe Lebrun, President of the IIR's Section A, mentioned cryogenic detectors of cosmic signals and cited Herschel probe as an example. The...

    • Publication date : 2008/08/12
  • 5 natural air-conditioning designs inspired by nature

    The high electricity consumption for air-conditioning is a problem that a new group of designers are trying to solve by mimicking Mother Nature's craftiness.

    • Publication date : 2013/09/19
  • Briefs: double-effect trigeneration for energy savings in French space centre

    The Centre Spatial de Toulouse, which is part of the French Centre National d'Etudes Spatiales is now equipped with a large-scale trigeneration plant. The Centre comprises 60 buildings and employs 2500 employees and until 2002 also had a huge...

    • Publication date : 2009/12/09
  • Zero refrigerant in occupied spaces thanks to Hybrid-VRF air-conditioning system.

    Mitsubishi Electric launches a Hybrid-VRF (HVRF) air-conditioning system which uses no refrigerant within a buildings' occupied spaces.

    • Publication date : 2013/10/04
  • Cryogenic nitrogen in the food and beverage industry

    The adoption of cryogenic processes in the food and beverage industry is predominantly driven by liquid nitrogen (LIN), and it is the preferred candidate for food chilling and...

    • Last update : 2023/11/07
    • Langues : French, English
    • Themes : Freezing of foodstuffs
  • Liquefied Natural Gas: production process and cold energy recovery

    Liquefied natural gas (LNG) is natural gas that has been cooled to about -160 °C and turned into a liquid to facilitate transportation and storage. A typical LNG supply chain...

    • Last update : 2023/06/23
    • Langues : French, English
    • Themes : LNG and LPG
  • Hydrocarbon refrigerants

    Hydrocarbons such as R290 (propane), R600a (isobutane) or R1270 (propene/propylene) are low GWP non-toxic natural refrigerants with excellent thermodynamic properties. They offer an...

    • Last update : 2022/06/22
    • Langues : French, English
    • Themes : Hydrocarbons, Containment, refrigerant charge reduction