Solidification Furnace for Microgravity Experiments on
Sounding Rockets
Chen Ying An*, Cesar Boschetti, Manuel Francisco Ribeiro, Rafael Cardoso Toledo, Filipe Estevão Freitas, Felipe Fernandes Castilho, Iraja Newton Bandeira
Instituto Nacional de Pesquisas Espaciais – São José dos Campos/SP – Brazil
Abstract: The Brazilian Microgravity Program is mainly based on experiments carried out on sounding rockets. Up to present days, three missions carrying a total of experiments were made. ,n all Àights, a fast solidi¿cation furnace, capable of producing temperatures up to 900º C, was used to process metal and semiconductor alloys in microgravity environment. This paper has described the furnace and the solidi¿cation experiment made during the last parabolic Àight, called Maracati Mission, which has occurred in 'ecember, 00.
Keywords: Microgravity, 6uborbital Àights, 6olidi¿cation furnace, $lloys solidi¿cation.
INTRODUCTION
The Brazilian Microgravity Program, which is supported by the Brazilian Space Agency (AEB), selects microgravity exper-LPHQWVSURYLGLQJSDUWLDO¿QDQFLDOVXSSRUWIRUWKHDSSURYHG SURMHFWVVLQFHWKHLULQLWLDOGHVLJQSKDVHVXSWRWKHÀLJKWPLVVLRQ
The Microgravity Program has contemplated missions on the International Space Station (ISS) in 2006 (Bandei-UDHWDODQGRQWKH%UD]LOLDQPDGHVRXQGLQJURFNHWV &RUUrDHWDO7KH¿UVWSDUDEROLFÀLJKWZDVLQ and eight microgravity experiments were selected by the First $QQRXQFHPHQWRI2SSRUWXQLW\$2RIWKHSURJUDPLQDUHDV VXFKDV%LRORJ\0DWHULDO6FLHQFHVDQG7UDQVSRUW3KHQRPHQD 7KHH[SHULPHQWVZHUHODXQFKHGIURPWKH%UD]LOLDQ$OFkQWD-ra Launching Center (CLA), onboard an one-stage B7KHH[SHULPHQWVZHUHODXQFKHGIURPWKH%UD]LOLDQ$OFkQWD-razilian 96VRXQGLQJURFNHWWKUHHWRIRXUPLQXWHVRIPLFURJUDYLW\ PDGHE\WKH,QVWLWXWHRI$HURQDXWLFVDQG6SDFH,$(IURPWKH $HURVSDFH7HFKQRORJ\DQG6FLHQFH'HSDUWPHQW'&7$ $VHFRQGÀLJKWZDVGRQHLQDQGDWKLUGLQZLWK DPRUHSRZHUIXOWZRVWDJHVRXQGLQJURFNHWZKLFKLVGHQRPL-QDWHG96%VL[WRHLJKWPLFURJUDYLW\PLQXWHV7KLVURFNHW LVFDSDEOHRIWUDQVSRUWLQJSD\ORDGVZLWKPDVVXSWRNJ GXULQJDERXWVHFRQGVLQDEDOOLVWLFÀLJKWDERYHNP $IWHUWKHSDUDEROLFÀLJKWLWIHOOLQWRWKHVHDDLGHGE\SDUDFKXWHV DQGZDVUHFRYHUHGE\WKH%UD]LOLDQ$LU)RUFHKHOLFRSWHUV
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SOLIDIFICATION FURNACE
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tube is evolved by a shielded electrical resistance, and quartz
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THE MARACATI MISSION
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PRELIMINARY EXPERIMENT ANALYSIS
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CONCLUSIONS
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ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
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REFERENCES
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