Electrostatic Levitation Research and Development at JAXA: Past and Present Activities in Thermophysics

This paper reviews the past and present research and development activities in the field of electrostatic levitation at the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA). Particular emphasis is given on the important innovations of sub-millimeter sample handling, launch levitation initiation, aero-electrostatic hybrid levitation, multi-beam heating geometry, electrode design, and ultraviolet (UV) imaging. A summary of the thermophysical properties of refractory materials measured in their liquid states, above and below their melting point, as well as preliminary results of samples solidified from deep supercooled states are also reported.