Detailed Thermal Design and Control of an Observation Satellite in Low Earth Orbit

Abstract

The thermal environment in space presents challenging conditions, including vacuum, low pressure, atomic oxygen, and extremes of hot and cold. Satellites consist of electronic equipment which needs to be maintained within a certain temperature range during the operation period. The thermal design and control of observation satellites in low Earth orbit (LEO) are therefore very important. In our study, we present the thermal design and analysis of LEO observation satellites. A satellite was designed and modelled using Systema Thermica v.4.8.P1 software with the Monte-Carlo ray tracing method. Analyses were performed for two extreme scenarios with (i) extreme hot and (ii) extreme cold temperatures. The areas, temperatures, and locations of the radiators on the satellite panels were analysed under the hot scenario, while the power and operating conditions of the heaters were evaluated based on the cold scenario. As a result, in the hot condition, a total radiator area of 0.6972 m 2 was used. The cold condition required a heating power of 25.06 W for the most critical battery in the satellite. It was observed that the temperatures of the electronic equipment on the satellite must be within the desired temperature range throughout the observation process. This temperature range is different for each type of equipment; for instance, batteries need to be between 0°C and +30°C, while electronic equipment must be between −20°C and +50°C.

Establishing reduced thermal mathematical model (RTMM) for a space equipment: an integrative review

“…Sözbir (2021) performed a thermal design analysis and the thermal control of a sun sensor on the basis of equipment for the communication satellite and verified the mathematical model by means of the tests. Sundu and Döner (2020) presented the thermal design and analysis of an observation satellite. In the analysis and design process, Systema Thermica v.4.8.P1 software with the Monte-Carlo ray-tracing method was used.…”

Modeling and Analysis of Battery Thermal Control in a Geostationary Satellite

“…They presented a thermal analysis of Li-ion batteries, and they found that the temperatures varied within the qualification temperatures. Sundu and Döner [33] studied the detailed thermal design and control of an observation satellite in low earth orbit and included a battery thermal analysis. They concluded that the design temperature of the battery was achieved by utilizing a thermistor to control the heaters automatically [34].…”