Thermal Environment of Interplanetary Space

Practical method for calculating radiation incident upon a panel in orbit

“…In determining radiant transfer from the sun or the earth to a specified surface, one needs a precise knowledge of angle factors showing the rates of radiation directly intercepted by the surface. Such view factors was first considered by Katz 1 and then by Hrycak, 2 and some of them were calculated by Ballinger et al 3 Cunningham 4 3 presented analytical expressions of earth-reflected solar radiation input to spherical satellites. Also given by Cunningham 6 " 8 are expressions for calculating thermal radiation from the earth VOL.…”

“…Among the cases studied, discrete ribs with a = 45 deg (Case 4) have the best thermal performance. Their performance, however, is lower than those of parallel staggered 3 x 2 discrete-rib arrays with a = 45 deg and 60 deg (Lau et al 3 ).…”