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The Superfluid Helium On-Orbit Transfer (SHOOT) Flight Demonstration was part of the space shuttle STS-57 mission in June, 1993. The experiment objectives included: transfer of superfluid between two dewars in a low gravity environment at different flow rates; operation of two different liquid acquisition devices within the dewars; liquid/vapor phase separation for normal liquid helium as well as superfluid at varying venting rates; accurate mass gauging and flow metering; and autonomous control of the transfer process by an expert system aboard a computer on the shuttle.
The SHOOT dewars were safely returned by the shuttle and are now available for re-flight. They can be made available to experimenters who have worthwhile experiments that require a shuttle-based, superfluid helium temperature environment.
The SHOOT logo features symbols of space flight and of cold. The polar bear represents the cold nature of the experiment. The Space Shuttle reminds us that the experiment took place in space. Seven stars from the constellation Ursa Major, the Great Bear, remind us of both cold and space: cold, because Ursa Major is a polar constellation, space because the stars are in space.
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Links:
Cryogenics & Fluids Home Page
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