the Sardinia Radio Telescope (SRT) went through the technical commissioning phase. The characterization involved three¯rst-light receivers, ranging in frequency between 300 MHz and 26 GHz, connected to a Total Power back-end. It also tested and employed the telescope active surface installed in the main re°ector of the antenna. The instrument status and performance proved to be in good agreement with the expectations in terms of surface panels alignment (at present 300 m rms to be improved with microwave holography), gain ($0.6 K/Jy in the given frequency range), pointing accuracy (5 arcsec at 22 GHz) and overall single-dish operational capabilities. Unresolved issues include the commissioning of the receiver centered at 350 MHz, which was compromised by several radio frequency interferences, and a lower-than-expected aperture e±ciency for the 22-GHz receiver when pointing at low elevations. Nevertheless, the SRT, at present completing its Astronomical Validation phase, is positively approaching its opening to the scienti¯c community.

This paper reports on an experimental study of a closed loop Flat Plate Pulsating Heat Pipe (FPPHP) tested on ground and on board of an aircraft during the 60th ESA parabolic flight campaign, during which hyper- and microgravity conditions were reproduced. The tested FPPHP consists of two brazed copper plates, into one of which a continuous rectangular channel (1.6 x 1.7 mm(2)) with 12 bends in the evaporator is machined. The channel is filled with FC-72 as working fluid with a volumetric filling ratio of 50%. Tests have been conducted with the FPPHP positioned both horizontally and vertically (bottomheated). The FPPHP presents an innovative design, involving the milling of grooves between the channels. Experimental results on the ground show that the thermal device can transfer more than 180 W in both inclinations, and that the horizontal operation is characterized by repeated stop-and-start phases and lower thermal performance. The FPPHP can operate under microgravity conditions and with a transient gravity force, with global thermal resistance reaching 50% and 25% of that of the empty plate (or around 66% and 35% of a full copper spreader of same overall dimensions), in horizontal and vertical orientation respectively. The temperature homogeneity remains within 10 K in the evaporator section and 3 K in the condenser section with thermal power transfer up to 180 W. Minimum thermal resistance of 0.12 K W-1 was recorded, with its value rising as heating grew more powerful. A parabolic flight test demonstrated that the FPPHP in vertical inclination is rapidly influenced by variation of gravity field, even if, due to the novel geometry, it continues to operate under microgravity. In horizontal inclination, on the other hand, there was no observable parameter change during gravity field variations

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