A rugged modularized MLI system for a 2.23-meter-diameter (87.6-in. -diam) liquid hydrogen tank was designed, fabricated, and tested under simulated near-Earth and deep-space environ¬ments. The two blankets of the system were each composed of 17 double-aluminized Mylar radiation shields separated by silk net. The unit area weight of the installed system was 1.54 kg/m² (0.32 lb/ft²). The overall average heat transferred into the insulated tank was 22.7 and 0.98 watts (77.4 and 3.3 Btu/hr) during simulated near-Earth and deep-space testing, respec¬tively. The near-Earth result was only 2.6 times that predicted for an undisturbed insulation system (i. e., no seams or penetrations). Tests indicate that this insulation concept could be useful for a cryogenic Space Tug or orbit transfer vehicle application.
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