A vacuum flask is an insulating storage vessel that slows the speed at which its contents change in temperature. It greatly lengthens the time over which its contents remain hotter or cooler than the flask's surroundings by trying to be as adiabatic as possible. Invented by Sir James Dewar in 1892, the vacuum flask consists of two flasks, placed one within the other and joined at the neck. The gap between the two flasks is partially evacuated of air, creating a near-vacuum which significantly reduces heat transfer by conduction or convection. When used to hold cold liquids, this also virtually eliminates condensation on the outside of the flask.
A lunch box refers to a hand-held container used to transport food, usually to work or to school. It is commonly made of metal or plastic, is reasonably airtight and often has a handle for carrying.
The H-II Transfer Vehicle (HTV), also called Kounotori, is an expendable, automated cargo spacecraft used to resupply the Kibō Japanese Experiment Module (JEM) and the International Space Station (ISS). The Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) has been working on the design since the early 1990s. The first mission, HTV-1, was originally intended to be launched in 2001. It launched at 17:01 UTC on 10 September 2009 on an H-IIB launch vehicle. The name Kounotori was chosen for the HTV by JAXA because "a white stork carries an image of conveying an important thing, therefore, it precisely expresses the HTV's mission to transport essential materials to the ISS". The HTV is very important for resupplying the ISS because after the retirement of the Space Shuttle it is the only vehicle that can transfer new 41.3 in (105 cm) wide International Standard Payload Racks (ISPRs) and dispose old ISPRs that can fit the 51 in (130 cm) wide tunnels between modules in the US Orbital Segment.
Kapton is a polyimide film used in flexible printed circuits and space blankets, which are used on spacecraft, satellites, and various space instruments. Invented by the DuPont Corporation in the 1960s, Kapton remains stable across a wide range of temperatures, from 4 to 673 K. Kapton is used in electronics manufacturing, space applications, with x-ray equipment, and in 3D printing applications. Its favorable thermal properties and outgassing characteristics result in its regular use in cryogenic applications and in situations where high vacuum environments are experienced.
The Minus Eighty-Degree Laboratory Freezer for ISS (MELFI) is a European-built experiment storage freezer for the International Space Station. It comprises four independent dewars which can be set to operate at different temperatures. Currently temperatures of −80 °C, −26 °C, and +4 °C are used during on-orbit ISS operations. Both reagents and samples will be stored in the freezer. As well as storage the freezer is designed to be used to transport samples to and from the ISS in a temperature controlled environment. The total capacity of the unit is 300 litres.
The Zojirushi Corporation is a Japanese multinational manufacturer and marketer of vacuum flasks, beverage dispensers, and consumer electronics including bread machines, electric kettles, hot water dispensers, electric water boilers and rice cookers. It has a branch in South Korea and subsidiary companies in Taiwan, China, Hong Kong, and the United States. Zojirushi is listed on the Tokyo Stock Exchange.
The Chambers stove is a generic name for several different kitchen cooking appliances sold under the Chambers brand name from 1912 to approximately 1988. Their ranges and stand-alone ovens were known for their patented insulation methods, which enabled them to cook on retained heat with the fuel turned off.
Sigg Switzerland AG is a Swiss manufacturing company with its headquarters in Frauenfeld. Sigg bottles are bottles designed and manufactured in Switzerland from aluminum and polypropylene or in China from stainless steel and glass. The company is famous because of the iconic shape of its classic bottle and numerous designs which have led to its addition to the permanent design collection of the New York Museum of Modern Art.
Insulated shipping containers are a type of packaging used to ship temperature sensitive products such as foods, pharmaceuticals, organs, blood, biologic materials, vaccines and chemicals. They are used as part of a cold chain to help maintain product freshness and efficacy. The term can also refer to insulated intermodal containers or insulated swap bodies.
A koozie (US) or stubby holder (Australian) is a fabric or foam sleeve that is designed to thermally insulate a beverage container, like a can or bottle.
Stanley is a brand of food and beverage containers named after William Stanley Jr. who invented the first all-steel insulated vacuum bottle in 1913. The Stanley brand has since been produced by several companies and is currently owned by Pacific Market International (PMI), a subsidiary of the HAVI Group. Stanley is best known for its steel thermoses, and since 2020, for its Stanley Quencher line of tumblers, also known as Stanley cups.
Aladdin is a brand notable for its line of character lunchboxes including Hopalong Cassidy, Superman, Mickey Mouse and The Jetsons. Today, Aladdin continues to be a food and beverage products brand and is owned by Pacific Market International, LLC of Seattle, Washington and Aladdin continues to be a kerosene lamps and wicks products brand and is owned by Hattersley Aladdin Ltd of the United Kingdom.
The American Thermos Bottle Company Laurel Hill Plant, located in the Laurel Hill section of Norwich, Connecticut, in the United States, includes 11 contributing buildings and two other contributing structures. The original plant was built during 1912–13 and used a historic Italianate house as a company office building. The plant was the primary factory where Thermos brand vacuum flask bottles were manufactured from 1913 to 1984. The plant is historically significant to its connection to the Thermos Company and the history of Norwich. The complex is architecturally significant because it displays the adaptive use of industrial mill design to new industry. It was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1989.
A thermal cooker, or a vacuum flask cooker, is a cooking device that uses thermal insulation to retain heat and cook food without the continuous use of fuel or other heat source. It is a modern implementation of a haybox, which uses hay or straw to insulate a cooking pot.
Thermos LLC is a manufacturer of insulated food and beverage containers and other consumer products. The original company was founded in Germany in 1904.
New Space-Station Resupply Vehicle, tentatively called HTV-X, is an uncrewed expendable cargo spacecraft under development by Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) as the successor of H-II Transfer Vehicle (HTV). As of December 2023, the first flight is planned to be launched in early 2025 to resupply the International Space Station.
Nippon Sanso Holdings Corporation, commonly known as NSHD, is a Japanese multinational industrial gas manufacturer incorporated in the year 1910 as Nippon Sanso Corporation. The company was founded in 1918.
Kounotori 7 (こうのとり7号機), also known as HTV-7, was the seventh flight of the H-II Transfer Vehicle (HTV), an uncrewed cargo spacecraft launched on 22 September 2018 to resupply the International Space Station.
The project to create the International Space Station required the utilization and/or construction of new and existing manufacturing facilities around the world, mostly in the United States and Europe. The agencies overseeing the manufacturing involved NASA, Roscosmos, the European Space Agency, JAXA, and the Canadian Space Agency. Hundreds of contractors working for the five space agencies were assigned the task of fabricating the modules, trusses, experiments and other hardware elements for the station.
