2000 ASHRAE Technology Awards: Cooling System For Space Shuttle Launch Pad PDF

Imagine the launch countdown of a space shuttle, when at the T-minus 31-second mark the countdown clock stops because of an air-cooled refrigeration unit failure. Ground system failures are undesirable when the system is providing thermal control for the space shuttle, all of its avionics and seven astronauts' lives. In 1985, investigations into failures of the ground coolant units prompted the development of a new ground coolant system. Thirteen years later, the Space Shuttle Columbia lifted off Pad 39B supported with a new ground cooling system.