{"id":253540,"date":"2025-07-19T05:10:50","date_gmt":"2025-07-18T19:10:50","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/?p=889600"},"modified":"2025-07-19T05:10:50","modified_gmt":"2025-07-18T19:10:50","slug":"stay-cool-nasa-tests-innovative-technique-for-super-cold-fuel-storage","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.vibewire.com.au\/?p=253540","title":{"rendered":"Stay Cool: NASA Tests Innovative Technique for Super Cold Fuel Storage"},"content":{"rendered":"
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4 Min Read<\/div>\n

\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tStay Cool: NASA Tests Innovative Technique for Super Cold Fuel Storage\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/h1>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n
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\"The<\/figure>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n
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The tank for NASA\u2019s two-stage cooling tests is lowered into a vacuum chamber in Test Stand 300 at NASA\u2019s Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Alabama.<\/figcaption><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n
\n\t\t\t\t\t\tCredits: <\/span>
\n\t\t\t\t\t\tNASA\/Kathy Henkel<\/span>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n<\/figcaption><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n

In the vacuum of space, where temperatures can plunge to minus 455 degrees Fahrenheit, it might seem like keeping things cold would be easy. But the reality is more complex for preserving ultra-cold fluid propellants \u2013 or fuel \u2013 that can easily overheat from onboard systems, solar radiation, and spacecraft exhaust. The solution is a method called cryogenic fluid management<\/a>, a suite of technologies that stores, transfers, and measures super cold fluids for the surface of the Moon, Mars, and future long-duration spaceflight missions.<\/p>\n

Super cold, or cryogenic, fluids like liquid hydrogen and liquid oxygen are the most common propellants for space exploration. Despite its chilling environment, space has a \u201chot\u201d effect on these propellants because of their low boiling points \u2013 about minus 424 degrees Fahrenheit for liquid hydrogen and about minus 298 for liquid oxygen \u2013 putting them at risk of boiloff.<\/p>\n

In a first-of-its-kind demonstration, teams at NASA\u2019s Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Alabama, are testing an innovative approach to achieve zero boiloff storage of liquid hydrogen using two stages of active cooling which could prevent the loss of valuable propellant.<\/p>\n

\u201cTechnologies for reducing propellant loss must be implemented for successful long-duration missions to deep space like the Moon and Mars,\u201d said Kathy Henkel, acting manager of NASA\u2019s Cryogenic Fluid Management Portfolio Project, based at NASA Marshall. \u201cTwo-stage cooling prevents propellant loss and successfully allows for long-term storage of propellants whether in transit or on the surface of a planetary body.\u201d<\/p>\n

The new technique, known as \u201ctube on tank\u201d cooling, integrates two cryocoolers, or cooling devices, to keep propellant cold and thwart multiple heat sources. Helium, chilled to about minus 424 degrees Fahrenheit, circulates through tubes attached to the outer wall of the propellant tank.<\/p>\n