ECCO Container: In the framework of Space Science programs Kayser Italia has developed a fleet of experiment containers, namely the ECCO – ESA Conditioned Container -. This development has been driven by the need of passive containers with very high thermal capabilities. The ECCO fleet includes containers of two main classes, which differ for dimension and temperature control performances: the ECCOs (i.e. ECCO and ECCO-b) and the miniECCOs containers.
ECCO aim: The ECCOs and the miniECCOs are containers with high thermal insulation and conditioning properties. Each container meets temperature requirements as well as volume and mass constraints for thermally conditioned upload/download of scientific samples.
Hardware performance: ECCO fleet containers are made of standardized PCM units allowing flexibility and variety in use so that EUs with different temperature requirements can be carried, covering a broad range from -25°C to +40°C. Typical performed storages using the ECCOs are between 2°C and 10°C for more than four days (ECCO, ECCO-b), and below -15°C for more than thirteen hours (miniECCO). The ECCO fleet – ECCO, ECCO-b and miniECCO – copes with launches/retrieval on Shuttle Transportation System (STS), Soyuz, Progress, Automated Transfer Vehicle (ATV) and H-II Transfer Vehicle (HTV).