Contribution to the Development of a Hydrogen Source for a Spaceborne Hydrogen Maser

Abstract

This master's thesis constitutes the first step in the experimental implementation of a novel compact design for a spaceborne hydrogen maser, proposed by E. Van der Beken, D. Léonard, and T. Bastin. Specifically, it aims to experimentally verify whether the selected metal hydride container, chosen based on theoretical and numerical arguments, is capable of delivering molecular hydrogen at an extremely stable pressure to a spaceborne hydrogen maser for the entire mission duration (approximately 15 years). An experimental procedure is developed to carry out this verification, and the results demonstrate that the selected container, the BL-30 metal hydride container with alloy L from Fuel Cell Store, is ideally suited for this purpose.