GFTS® Design Gallery

Previous Designs & Spaceflight Models

Over the last decade, Technology Applications, Inc. has designed and assembled hundreds of graphite thermal straps for use in aerospace, laboratory and defense applications for customers like NASA, JAXA, ESA, Airbus, LMCO, and many others who cannot be named due to NDA's and cybersecurity policies. These straps are not only a testament to our expertise, but our ability to accommodate a vast array of customer demands. All of these assemblies were designed for the optimization of heat transfer from power dissipation components such as cryocooler compressors, radiators, antenna arrays, DAQ's systems, electronics boxes, radar electronics, or optics that dissipate anywhere from forty watts to several hundreds of watts and require an efficient, lightweight thermal conductor for transferring heat to the heat rejection interface.

The following are just a few examples of some of our GFTS® designs and flight units.

	Compressor Vibration Isolation Thermal Strap (2nd Generation U and J-shaped Straps): Iterations/Variations used on JAXA's ASTRO-H and NASA's ORION Simple arched strap designed for heat removal from a Stirling-cycle or pulse-tube cryocooler compressor interface. Each strap provided roughly 0.15 - .25 W/K conductance at 300K, while weighing in at just 15-20 grams (1/5-1/10 their metallic counterparts). Effective at attentuating mechanical vibration
	Nested Double Row Assemblies: Used on JAXA's ASTRO-H Pogram Coupled with Vibration Isolation System Multiple variations used on ASTRO-H
	Large Conductance and Range of Motion Strap Assemblies (Nested Configuration): Used in NASA's ORION Program Large arched strap assemblies of varying lengths and widths to accommodate very small thermal gradients More than 1-inch static motion between interfaces provided More than 0.5-inch dynamic motion More than 2.5 W/K total conductance at 10-in length
	Large Strap Sections: Used on NASA's ORION Single and double fiber row configurations 0.5 to 0.9 W/K per section Parallel combinations to increase thermal conductance in assemblies Most large sections made in shallow or steep "U-shapes," "J-shapes" and "S-shapes."
	Dual-Armed FM GFTS™ (UV-VIS Spectrometer Instrument) Designed, assembled by TAI; FM unit delivered May 2016 Dual-armed strap with central plate interfacing with heat pipe
	Straight GFTS™ - Hyperspectral Instrument Assembly
	Tripod-Style/Multiple Arm Multiple point heat removal to single heat sink Multi-direction flexibility Scalable TAI routinely builds GFTS and CuTS units with 2 - 4 "arms"
	Short High Conductance Dual Plane GFTS Vibration attenuating Accommodates thermal contraction over large temperature range Small range of motion between interfaces
	S-Shaped Straps Single and double fiber row configurations Unique interface configurations accommodated by custom end fittings Very flexible in vertical axis One end doubles as cryogen tank mount
	Ball Aerospace Visible Camera System GFTS Assembly (first gen. GFTS) Heat removal from camera optics to thermal bus Single row straight design provides maximum conductance Limited flexibility accommodates design tolerances
	Small/Single Rope "Chip" Straps: NASA's SPICE on SORA Used for chip cooling and waste heat removal in extremely small and/or tight locations within space systems.
	Low-Mass Optimized End Fittings: NASA's SPICE on SORA Straps used by NASA with very little interface area to attach to, and with extremely limited mass requirement. By moving bolt holes out to the sides, and removing the traditional "step" in the fitting, our engineers were able to remove an additional 40% from the end fitting mass.
	Optical Instrument GFTS® with Aluminized Mylar Overwrap - DLR EnMAP FM GFTS® Strap with a gentle arc shape, with additional adaptor blocks mounted to end fittings. Used in optical system on hyperspectral satellite.
	G5-502 (J-Shape) - Custom Version used on JAXA's ASTRO-H Standard Model GFTS® Length and Bolt Pattern Customizable
	Mirror Image Double Row GFTS® with Kapton Overwrap - NASA JPL and Airbus Defense & Space - GRACE-FO
	Double Row GFTS® with Kapton Overwrap - Boeing CST-100 Starliner Customized G5-502 Multiple versions/shapes and lengths used
	G5-501: Early versions used on JAXA's ASTRO-H Standard Model GFTS® Length and Bolt Pattern Customizable J-Shaped Section
	G6-502 Standard GFTS® Unit - Customer/Program Name Withheld Standard Model Length and Bolt Pattern Customizable J-Shaped Section
	G6-501 Standard GFTS® Units - NASA Standard Models Length and Bolt Pattern Customizable U-Shaped Sections
	Flight Model GFTS-TEC Hybrid Thermal Straps - NASA's IXPE Mission Strap End Fittings Integrated with TEC coolers Prototype and Flight Models delivered in late 2018 and spring 2019 TAI also providing GFTS on another part of the IXPE program in the fall of 2019...more details coming.