Scroll Vacuum Pumps Aboard NASA Global Hawk

Air Squared’s oil-free scroll vacuum pumps successfully used on NASA Global Hawk unmanned mission.

Inside the payload of NASA’s high-altitude Global Hawk science aircraft, are two of Air Squared’s V12H020A-BLDC-C scroll vacuum pumps. The pumps are integrated into one of the eleven science instruments installed in the Global Hawk for the Airborne Tropical Tropopause Experiment, or ATTREX. For 24 hours during the unmanned mission over the Pacific Ocean, the pumps were used in a device that samples and analyzes conditions of the upper atmosphere. Ultimately, the project hopes to answer questions on climate change.

With limited space inside the Global Hawk, the V12H020A-BLDC-C scroll vacuum pumps were selected because of their compact and lightweight design.