Lumen Thermal Vacuum (TVAC) Test System
Hypernova Space Technologies
Space-environment qualification TVAC testing service from Cape Town — high vacuum + thermal cycling for small satellite components and subsystems, operated by Hypernova Space Technologies for African and global customers.
Technical specifications
- Facility location
- Cape Town, South Africa
- Service type
- Thermal vacuum testing as a service
- Test environment
- High vacuum + thermal cycling
- Target hardware
- Small satellite components, subsystems, CubeSat-class assemblies
- In-house heritage
- Qualified Hypernova vacuum arc thruster hardware (Transporter-6, Jan 2023)
- Operator
- Hypernova Space Technologies engineering team
About
The Lumen Thermal Vacuum System is Hypernova Space Technologies’ branded TVAC testing platform and service, providing space-environment qualification to small satellite developers from its laboratory facility in Cape Town, South Africa. Thermal vacuum (TVAC) testing is a critical qualification step for any space hardware, exposing components and assemblies to the combined effects of hard vacuum and extreme temperature cycling that replicate the thermal and pressure conditions of low Earth orbit.
Hypernova’s Lumen system addresses a key barrier for African satellite developers and international teams seeking local space-qualification capability without the cost and logistics of shipping hardware to overseas test facilities. The same vacuum and thermal infrastructure used to qualify Hypernova’s own vacuum arc thrusters in-house is offered as a commercial testing service to third-party customers — creating a proven, operationally validated facility.
The facility has performed thermal correlation tests under high vacuum on aerospace components, including characterization campaigns supporting Hypernova’s own propulsion hardware ahead of the January 2023 Transporter-6 orbital demonstration mission. As an open and accessible service, Lumen lowers the barrier for university programs, startups, and emerging space agencies in Africa and beyond to qualify flight hardware to internationally recognized standards.
The Lumen service is particularly well-positioned for CubeSat-class missions (1U–12U) and PocketQube developers who require qualification of individual components or full subsystem assemblies without a full system-level facility.
Documentation
No public datasheet yet — request the datasheet / ICD from the supplier.