This book covers the necessary material required for engineers to perform the design and qualification of a space thermal control system comprehensively. Beginning with the fundamentals of space missions and following with the indispensable background on heat transfer, a full description of current thermal control technologies is presented. The overall view details the complete process in the design and validation (analysis and tests) of these systems. Finally relevant data on material properties are given.

Table of Contents

Space Systems: The Space Mission; space environment; orbits; spacecraft subsystems; space payloads; Fundamentals of heat transfer for spacecraft thermal design: Conductive heat transfer; thermal radiation heat transfer; in orbit thermal loads; example: isothermal satellite surface temperature; Thermal control technologies: Introduction; surface thermal finishes; insulation systems; radiators; louvers; mechanical interfaces; heat pipes; phase-change materials; electrical heating; fluid loops; thermo-electric cooling; cryogenic cooling; thermal protection systems; Thermal control design, analysis and testing: Thermal control design; thermal control analysis; thermal control testing; examples; Appendix A: Material properties; Appendix B: Geometrical factors.

About the Author

Professor Jose Meseguer is a Full Professor of Aerospace Engineering at the Universidad Politecnica de Madrid (UPM), and the Director of IDR/UPM, an Institute of UPM for Aerospace Research and Development activities; he has worked in several ESA/ESTEC contracts on thermal control (Spacecraft Thermal Control Design Data Handbook). Dr. Perez-Grande is Associate Professor of Thermodynamics at UPM, and the Head of the Thermal Control Division of IDR/UPM. She was responsible for the thermal control design and testing of the satellite UPM-Sat 1, as well as the thermal control of several instruments for ESA missions. Professor Sanz-Andres was the technical director of the satellite UPM-Sat 1, and is Full Professor of Aerospace Engineering at UPM; he is advisor in thermal and structural design in the development of several scientific space instruments. Member of the European Space Agency (ESA) "Physical Science Working Group" (PSWG). Dr. Gustavo Alonso holds the Associate Professor post of Aerospace Engineering at UPM. He worked at ESA/ESTEC from 1990 to 1995 at the Mechanical Systems Department, and from 1995 to 2004 he covered senior technical and management positions at different Spanish Space industries. His overall responsibilities included the research activities of those companies.