Space/Science — HabitableZone

Space/Science » in reply to "The best vacuums available on Earth are less than 10 -8 Pa, less than 10e-13 atmospheres!" Not QUITE true...

The Shuttle Test Unit I worked on for Gravity Probe B used ion pumps

They never flew it, but it was designed and ready to build for a Shuttle flight on an MPSS. (I think that's the right acronym).

The actual satellite (I think--wasn't my jurisdiction) uses liquid helium temperatures to pull down the vacuum.

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