Design and Development of the Heat Redistribution System for the Europa Clipper Spacecraft

Date

2017-07-16

Journal Title

Journal ISSN

Volume Title

Publisher

47th International Conference on Environmental Systems

Abstract

This paper details the conceptual design of the Heat Redistribution System (HRS) used for thermal control of the Europa Clipper spacecraft. The solar powered spacecraft will launch in the early 2020s and will study Jupiter’s Icy moon, Europa, where previous investigations have indicated the possibility of a liquid water ocean underneath its ice-encrusted surface. The spacecraft will execute multiple flybys of Europa while relying on the HRS for thermal control of the spacecraft bus. The HRS utilizes a Mechanically Pumped Fluid Loop (MPFL) to reclaim waste heat from an avionics and payload electronics compartment and redistribute it to other parts of the spacecraft, such as the propulsion module structure and the louver-radiator assembly. A “replacement heater block” provides supplemental heat when needed to maintain the spacecraft hardware above its allowable flight temperatures. Additionally, a set of thermal control valves autonomously actuate to reduce the fluid flow through the radiator during cold environment cases. The HRS was used in previous flight projects at JPL such as Mars Science Laboratory, but the uniqueness of the Europa Clipper mission has mandated changes to previous HRS designs; the most significant design drivers and design changes for this iteration of the HRS are discussed.

Description

Hared Ochoa, NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) - Caltech, USA
Jenny Hua, NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) - Caltech, USA
Arthur J. Mastropietro, NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) - Caltech, USA
Raymond Lee, NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) - Caltech, USA
Anthony Paris, NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) - Caltech, USA
Nickolas Emis, NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) - Caltech, USA
Bruce Williams, The Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory (APL), USA
ICES101: Spacecraft and Instrument Thermal Systems
The 47th International Conference on Environmental Systems was held in South Carolina, USA on 16 July 2017 through 20 July 2017.

Keywords

Europa, Active Thermal Control, Europa Spacecraft, Thermal Architecture

Citation