Nov. 9, 2021

Media Advisory: Thermal Vacuum Chamber Delivery to Applied Research Building Site

  • What: Delivery and placement of a thermal vacuum chamber that simulates environmental conditions in space
  • When: Wednesday, Nov. 10, 3-9:30 a.m.
  • Where: Applied Research Building construction site, 1420 E. Helen St.
  • RSVP: Media who wish to attend must RSVP to Stephanie Doster, scdoster@email.arizona.edu, and Jason Ground, jground@arizona.edu.

TUCSON, Ariz. – A large-scale thermal vacuum chamber that simulates environmental conditions in space will be delivered to the University of Arizona's Applied Research Building construction site on Wednesday, Nov. 10, at approximately 3 a.m. and will be hoisted into place starting at 6:30 a.m.

The operation will be managed by design-builder McCarthy Building Companies.

Used to test balloon and satellite performance, the thermal vacuum chamber, which is 30 feet long and weighs 80,000 pounds, has been housed for refurbishment at the UA Tech Park since July. The chamber is one of the anchor instruments of UArizona's new $85 million, three-story Applied Research Building. Crews broke ground on the 89,000-square-foot facility in June. Located at the southeast corner of East Helen Street and North Highland Avenue, the building will house research that advances the fields of applied physical sciences and engineering. It is expected to be completed in January 2023.

The Applied Research Building will provide new research capabilities with state-of-the-art equipment and technology and will bring together in one location several interdisciplinary university programs from across four colleges and eight departments.

The building will house a variety of specialized spaces, and will serve as a world-class test and integration center for satellites, probes and spacecraft. A range of facilities, including the thermal vacuum chamber, will allow for such testing.

Media contacts:

Stephanie Doster
Research, Innovation & Impact
520-260-3334
scdoster@email.arizona.edu

Jason Ground
University Communications
520-954-0715
jground@arizona.edu 

Mitch Terrell
McCarthy Building Companies
480-521-2806
mterrell@mccarthy.com

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The University of Arizona, a land-grant university with two independently accredited medical schools, is one of the nation's top 50 public universities, according to U.S. News & World Report. Established in 1885, the university is widely recognized as a student-centric university and has been designated as a Hispanic Serving Institution by the U.S. Department of Education. The university ranked in the top 20 in 2019 in research expenditures among all public universities, according to the National Science Foundation, and is a leading Research 1 institution with $734 million in annual research expenditures. The university advances the frontiers of interdisciplinary scholarship and entrepreneurial partnerships as a member of the Association of American Universities, the 66 leading public and private research universities in the U.S. It benefits the state with an estimated economic impact of $4.1 billion annually. For the latest on the University of Arizona response to the novel coronavirus, visit the university's COVID-19 webpage.

The University of Arizona Land Acknowledgement