The Department of Defense is actively pursuing a Responsive Space capability that will dramatically reduce the cost and
time associated with getting a payload into space. In order to enable that capability, our space systems must be modular
and flexible to cover a wide range of missions, configurations, duty cycles, and orbits. This places requirements on the
entire satellite infrastructure: payloads, avionics, electrical harnessing, structure, thermal management system, etc. The
Integrated Structural Systems Team at the Air Force Research Laboratory, Space Vehicles Directorate, has been tasked
with developing structural and thermal solutions that will enable a Responsive Space capability. This paper details a
"symbiotic" solution where thermal management functionality is embedded within the structure of the satellite. This
approach is based on the flight proven and structurally efficient isogrid architecture. In our rendition, the ribs serve as
fluidic passages for thermal management, and passively activated valves are used to control flow to the individual
components. As the paper will explain, our analysis has shown this design to be structurally efficient and thermally
responsive to a wide range of potential satellite missions, payloads, configurations, and orbits.
KEYWORDS: Satellites, Data modeling, Sun, Temperature metrology, Solar cells, Thermal modeling, Space operations, Heat flux, Thermal analysis, Global Positioning System
There has been a recent increase in emphasis on small satellites because of their low cost, short development times, relative simplicity, and cost efficiency. However, these satellites do have drawbacks. Their small size results in small surface areas which often translate into thermal and power constraints. A small satellite may not have enough surface area for radiators and/or solar panels. The radiators are used to release internal heat during hot environments, and solar panels create necessary power for the heaters during cold environments. Because of the surface area and power limitations, a passive thermal design was then selected for the Formation Autonomy Spacecraft with Thrust, Relative Navigation, Attitude, and Crosslink Program (FASTRAC) twin satellites, built by students at the University of Texas at Austin. Thermal cycling and thermal analysis were performed. The thermal cycling was done in Chamber-N at Johnson Space Center, Texas, using worst case hot and cold scenarios. The thermal analysis was conducted using Finite Elements (FE), and the results were compared to the test data and validated. FASTRAC is planned to be in a LEO orbit which ranges between 300km and 500km in altitude. The orbits were then simulated to determine the characteristics of the LEO orbits in which FASTRAC can survive.
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