Robust Thermal Control of Propulsion Lines for Space Missions

In spacecraft that have propulsion lines that are located externally with open bus architecture, the lines are typically insulated by Multi Layer Insulation (MLI) blankets to protect them thermally from the cold space environment. In addition to heat loss through the insulation, mechanical supports used to attach the lines to the spacecraft structure also create heat leaks from the lines. These lines typically have very low thermal conduction in the axial direction, so the heat balance in the lines tends to be very local without much heat spreading. The typical allowable temperature range for hydrazine-based lines is +15/+50°C. This tight temperature range has to be maintained for every location on these lines. For typical spacecraft, these lines can be several meters long. Temperature control is typically achieved by closed loop monitoring of temperatures along the lines and the corresponding powering of the heaters in a bang-bang approach to maintain the temperatures within the dead band of the control loop. The temperatures of propulsion lines are a function of several parameters with heat loss characteristics of the MLI being the key one. Unfortunately, this same key characteristic (MLI effective emittance) has a large variation along its length due to its dependence on workmanship, which in turn leads to large uncertainties in the propulsion lines’ local temperatures. Because of the poor conduction along the axial direction, heat balance along the length varies dramatically from one location to the next, even few inches apart, depending on the combination of the controlling parameters. This paper describes various robust design and implementation approaches that have been investigated to greatly reduce the randomness associated with predicting the temperature of these propulsion lines.