Sounding rocket heat pipe experiment.

Abstract

An experiment was conducted during October 1971 aboard a sounding rocket to observe the operation of several heat pipes in a zero gravity environment. The pipe designs which were tested included a spiral artery, a pedestal artery, and a plain groove. Two control pipes without wicking were also flown. The two artery pipes were similar to those which will be used on the OAO-C satellite, while the groove pipe was similar to that used on the ATS-F spacecraft. The results of the experiment indicate that the heat pipes operated satisfactorily during the flight which included four minutes of zero gravity.