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TITUS – Calomel

Space payloads

TITUS

Tubular Furnace with Integrated Thermal Analysis under Space Conditions

Facility Parameters
DIMENSIONS 1255 x 320 x 260 mm
OVERALL MASS 43.7 kg + 13 kg (auxiliary equipment)
VOLTAGE / MAX POWER 27+7/-4 V DC / 670 W
DATA INTERFACE RS 232, max. 19.2 kbits/second
  • Tubular Furnace with Integrated Thermal Analysis under Space Conditions for material science experiments.
  • Operational on board MIR Station from 1995 to 2001.
  • Crystal growth, solidification, diffusion, physical chemistry.
  • CSK4/TITUS is the further development in series of BBT furnaces starting with CSK-1, CSK-1C and has been used for the first time during the EuroMIR’95 mission (in co-operation with DLR-MUSC, ESA, DARA, Humboldt Univ., Kayser-Threde, Energija/MIR).
  • The facility was last used during the MIR’99 – PERSEUS mission (ESA, CNES – 1999)
  Crew Interface Computer
Type IBM ThinkPad 755 C with docking station
Processor 486 DX/4, 75 MHz, 20 MB
Storage capacity hard disk 500 MB
Storage capacity PCMCIA 350 MB (exchangeable)
Max. power 115 W
Interfaces 3 RS 232 serial interfaces
TITUS on board MIR during operation
Space missions using the TITUS facility
Space station Period Programme
MIR 1995-1996 EUROMIR 95 (ESA)
MIR 1996-1999 MIR 97 (DLR MUSC)
MIR 1999-2001 MIR99-PERSEUS (CNES)
TITUS space facility with German astronauts Hans-Pieter Schegel and Reinhold Ewald (Project MIR'97) (photo DLR, Germany)
The Experimental and Diagnostic Features:
  • 2 operation modes
    • Bridgman type / gradient-freezing method
    • isothermal profile
  • positioning of thermocouple inside a sample capillary (Capsule Mode)
  • up to 10 thermocouples NiCrSi-NiSi or Pt-PtRh type (Probe Mode)
  • Temperature measurement resolution
    • absolute temperature 0.3 K
    • temperature difference 10mK
  • Differential Thermal Analysis (DTA)
  • Calorimetry
  • Temperature distribution measurements
  • Dedicated 3-axis acceleration measuring package
  Measurement electronics (TEGRA)
Interface 2x RS 232 serial
Measuring frequency temperature 0.01 to 1 Hz
gravitation 50/100/200 Hz
Measuring range temperature 0 to 1400 °C
gravitation ± 50 mg
Resolution temperature 10 mK
gravitation 25 µg
Furnace (CSK-4)
Heaters 6 (4 narrow, 2 wide zones)
Temperature 100 to 1250 °C
Temperature setting accuracy ± 2.5 K
Temperature control ± 0.3 K
Max. axial temperature gradient 5 to 30 K/cm (sample material dependent)
Heated length 200 mm
Translation Gradient freezing, cartridge movement
Feeding length 480 mm
Feeding speed 0.01 to 20.8 mm/h
Accuracy of positioning ± 0.01 mm
Atmosphere Ambient
TITUS project logo with consortium partners