The purpose of the payload addition was to test five variations of the tapered LAD, a device intended to safely deliver liquid propellant to a rocket engine from fuel tanks, on how they perform in microgravity.
As most rocket engines used cryogenic liquid propellants as fuel, large amounts of fuel would have to be stored at low temperatures before being transferred to the rocket engine during any long spaceflight.
LADs, the first tapered design of which was first developed by SwRI and NASA in the late 1990s and early 200s, have straight channels that are vulnerable to internal vapour bubbles.
Tapered liquid acquisition device.
The channels remove the bubbles through surface tension. Commenting on this design, Kevin Supak, Programme Manager, SwRI, said, “A more reliable design is needed to prevent vapour bubbles from transferring to other tanks as these bubbles could also damage the engines during ignition.
He added that the tapered LED is being developed to deliver vapour-free liquid to a fuel tank or an engine.
The experiment involved a 10-minute flight aboard New Shepard, providing around three minutes of microgravity. During the test five different variations of the LAD were assessed to see if the angle or surface properties affects the passive removal of gas bubbles by the device without using expensive thrusting manoeuvres or active separation systems.
The space flight also included the OSCAR Trash-to-Gas payload, which tested a system that helps process trash samples into useful gases.