Robust satellite thermal control using forced air convection thermal switches for operationally responsive space missions.

摘要

The focus of this work was to investigate the design of a thermal control system based on a forced air convection thermal switch (FACTS) concept. The concept consists of separating the individual satellite subsystems and enclosing them each in hermetically sealed enclosures. The temperature is then controlled by modulating the heat transfer coefficient with a DC axial fan.; The missions, payloads, and requirements for ORS are still somewhat nebulous. As a result, bus architectures and specific components have not been identified. To provide a baseline for the TCS design and to bound the problem, a low capability and a higher capability bus were sized. Using these two busses, thermal models were constructed and the TCSs were designed. In the analysis, a passive conduction-based scheme and an active system based on the FACTS concept was investigated. Finally, the design of the enclosures was optimized for the FACTS approach to provide a robust TCS solution for ORS missions. Using FACTS, a conservative switching ratio of 69:1 was achieved. (Abstract shortened by UMI.)