Intlvac Thin Films Launches Business Unit for the Space Economy

HALTON HILLS, ON, Aug. 2, 2023 /PRNewswire/ - Intlvac Thin Film, a Canadian advanced manufacturing company that has a thirty-year history in the thin film deposition and materials science industry has launched its smart vacuum systems for space simulations business unit that will operate as Intlvac Space Simulation.

"We are in a period of great excitement in terms of space exploration and the space economy. Countries and corporations are launching more and more equipment and satellites into space. The goals set for space exploration are truly visionary and the preparation, planning, product development and qualification required to achieve those goals must also be visionary," explained Intlvac's President Dino Deligiannis. 

"Space lacks the earth's magnetic field or atmosphere to shield satellites and equipment from extreme temperatures and radiation. Intlvac's vacuum environments are essential to test components for mission critical safety and functionality by simulating the harsh environment of space. Our clients can test their components for space applications by allowing their products to receive the full brunt of extraterrestrial radiation while they are exposed to extremely low pressure, extreme temperatures, thermal shock and propulsion tests. Our clients can see and understand how their equipment will perform and behave in space," explained Mr. Deligiannis. 

Intlvac Space Simulation supplies a line of test systems suitable for instrumentation, optics and micro-satellites that allow clients to simulate the black body surface temperatures down to 90 Kelvin while simulating the deep space environment. Testing between -180 degrees Celsius and +130 degrees Celsius is possible. Intlvac Space Simulation's vacuum systems that are commercially available include the Deimos TVAC1, Phobos TVAC2 and Ares TVAC3. The Aether Vacuum Degassing System is also commercially available and is designed for rapid, consecutive degassing of small components for space-ready use by holding them under high vacuum while being baked by thermal radiation. 

"We have a long history of working with companies and agencies operating in the space economy and we are able to expand our product lines and services to meet industry demand. To continue on our growth trajectory we will move our existing vacuum systems for space simulations into a new business unit that will market and sell our vacuum systems under the Intlvac Space Simulation brand. Intlvac Thin Film will continue to develop new technologies and processes that will migrate into the Space Simulation business unit. A great example of this is our new space simulation chambers that serve as a reliable space agriculture test environment," explained Mr. Deligiannis. "Space agriculture is starting to garner global attention for future space missions. Plants and nature have a profound effect on human beings and their mental health. This becomes even more important on long space missions. In addition to the health benefits the cost of each extra kilogram of weight added to a space mission is enormous. Figuring out how to reduce the financial burden of the extra weight of fruit and vegetables for human consumption in space is a worthy challenge to overcome and our chambers offer the correct control and monitoring capability to serve as a reliable space agriculture test environment," concluded Mr. Deligiannis. 

For more information about Intlvac Space Simulation please visit www.intlvacspacesimulation and for more information about Intlvac Thin Film Inc. please visit https://intlvacthinfilm.ca/

For product information on Intlvac Space Simulation's Deimos TVAC1, Phobos TVAC2, Ares TVAC3 and the Aether Vacuum Degassing System please contact [email protected]

Intlvac Thin Film is a Canadian advanced manufacturing company that supplies Systems for High Vacuum Thin Film Deposition & Ion Beam Etching/Deposition, Thin Film Coatings, and Ion Sources for surface modification. The company has been a driving force in the thin film deposition and materials science industry for the past thirty years. Intlvac Thin Films has customers in the aerospace, defence, medicine, telecommunications, energy, hydrogen fuel cells, optics and photonics industries. The corporate headquarters is in Halton Hills, Ontario, Canada and the company has a US subsidiary in Fort Collins, Colorado to support clients in the United States. The company also operates two business units; Intlvac Hydrogen and Intlvac Space Simulation.

SOURCE Intlvac Thin Film