Trained support and operation staff­ able to develop fixturing, integration, and test plans to meet your project needs.

Contact Us for Work Requests/Inquiries

For more information, contact the Physics Testing Center at phys-testing@divms.uiowa.edu.

Located in B01, 108, and 408 Van Allen Hall

Thermal Vacuum Test Chamber

Wide Temperature Range Vacuum Testing

The Thermal Vacuum Chamber is used for testing spacecraft components under simulated environmental space conditions such as cold or high temperatures. 

  • Pressures as low as 10Torr
  • Chamber Temperature: -195 to =150 C
  • Liquid Nitrogen cooled radiative shroud
  • Cold Fixture: ~4 K
  • TQCM contamination monitor
  • Working Volume: 5' x 2' x 22" (1525 x 610 x 560 mm)
  • LabVIEW monitoring software
  • 5 independent temperature sub-zones
  • 48 Temperature monitoring channels
  • 82 Instrument signal channels
  • 4 RF channels in SMA

 

Thermal vacuum chamber testing a magnetometer
Thermal vacuum chamber testing of our ICI-5 Sounding Rocket Mission magnetometer and student balloon project. We use the thermovac to simulate the extreme conditions of space and see how our instruments perform.

Small Vacuum Test Chamber

Vacuum: 

  • High Vacuum (<10-6 Torr) 

  • Dry scroll pump for oil-free rough pumping 

  • Turbopump to achieve high vacuum 

  • Nitrogen backfill with options for higher purity gases 

Test Volume: 

  • Test volume of 23 x 17 x 15” 

  • Aluminum plate with standard hole pattern to mount UUT 

  • Optional CQCM  

  • Note: This may reduce allowable UUT height  

Temperature Control: 

  • Thermal platen 

  • -100 to 260C 

  • Chamber walls 

  • +35 to 220C 

  • 11 available thermocouples 

Electrical: 

  • Various CF/KF feedthrough options available 

Facilities 

  • Chamber door inside ISO7 softwall cleantent with ESD flooring 

  • Feedthroughs all outside the cleantent to allow operator to monitor UUT in a normal lab environment 

Other: 

  • Optional CQCM for real-time contamination measurements 

Small TVAC at University of Iowa

Vibration Testing

The vibration table is used for testing spacecraft components under a simulated controlled environment to reproduce events such as a rocket launch, sine, random shock, etc.

 vibration table

Mass Properties

The MOI Tester is a gravity-driven pendulum. 

MOI Tester
Moment of interia measurement instument

Thermal Testing

Ambient pressure thermal testing from 190 to -70 C is used for environmental testing.

Thermal testing chamber

EMI/EMC Testing

This spaceflight hardware testing ensures the reliable operation of electronic systems, prevents interference that could compromise mission-critical communications, and safeguards against potential malfunctions caused by electromagnetic disturbances in the harsh and complex environment of space.

EMI/EMC testing for TRACERS