Thermal Design of a Recoverable Microsatellite

This paper describes the preliminary thermal design of a very unique microsatellite. Its mission consists of a period spent in low Earth orbit, during which time it provides a stable environment for microgravity experiments, and then a controlled re-entry through the atmosphere followed by a landing and intact recovery of the experiment. Thus, the thermal design must cater for two quite distinct mission phases. The paper will examine how realistic thermal requirements are developed for the mission and show how the design achieves these. The atmospheric re-entry has a disproportionate influence on the thermal requirements, as well as driving the configuration of the microsatellite and consuming a significant portion of its mass budget. The thermal testing requirements will be assessed in detail and a plan will be presented. This paper provides a first, system-level analysis in which priority areas for detailed thermal analysis will be identified.