Spacecraft active thermal control subsystem design and operation considerationsFuture spacecraft missions will be characterized by high electrical power requiring active thermal control subsystems for acquisition, transport, and rejection of waste heat. These systems will be designed to operate with minimum maintenance for up to 10 years, with widely varying externally-imposed environments, as well as the spacecraft waste heat rejection loads. This paper presents the design considerations and idealized performance analysis of a typical thermal control subsystem with emphasis on the temperature control aspects during off-design operation. The selected thermal management subsystem is a cooling loop for a 75-kWe fuel cell subsystem, consisting of a fuel cell heat exchanger, thermal storage, pumps, and radiator. Both pumped-liquid transport and two-phase (liquid/vapor) transport options are presented with examination of similarities and differences of the control requirements for these representative thermal control options.
Document ID
19860055149
Acquisition Source
Legacy CDMS
Document Type
Conference Paper
Authors
Sadunas, J. A. (Rockwell International Corp. Seal Beach, CA, United States)
Lehtinen, A. M. (Rockwell International Corp. Seal Beach, CA, United States)
Nguyen, H. T. (Rockwell International Corp. Satellite Systems Div., Seal Beach, CA, United States)
Parish, R. (NASA Johnson Space Center Houston, TX, United States)