Automatic thermal control switches

Two automatic, flexible connection thermal control switches have been designed and tested in a thermal vacuum facility and in the Get Away Special (GAS) container flown on the third Shuttle flight. The switches are complementary in that one switch passes heat when the plate on which it is mounted exceeds some selected temperature and the other switch will pass heat only when the mounting plate temperature is below the selected value. Both switches are driven and controlled by phase-change capsule motors and require no other power source or thermal sensors.