The worst-case thermal environment parameters of small satellites based on Real-Observation Data

Date

7/12/2021

Journal Title

Journal ISSN

Volume Title

Publisher

50th International Conference on Environmental Systems

Abstract

The thermal environmental conditions that define the worst-case analyses of Low Earth Orbit (LEO) satellites have been selected based on the Criteria established by National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) in 1994 using first Earth Radiation Budget Experiment (ERBE) data about the Radiative Energy Budget. Even if this methodology has been widely used in space missions, no review has yet been made with the new available and more precise data. Particularizing this analysis to small satellites (CubeSat, NanoSatellites, Picosatellites) the in-orbit albedo and Outgoing Longwave Radiation (OLR) variations, together with the direct Solar radiation, drive the thermal behavior of the systems. In contrast to bigger satellites, which are mainly affected by the average heat flux over their surfaces, small satellite temperatures are considerably coupled to the in-orbit variations caused by local variations in the atmosphere radiative characteristics. In order to understand all factors that take part in the thermal environment characterization of a LEO orbit, a deep study of the sampled Clouds and the Earth's Radiant Energy System (CERES) albedo and OLR time-series obtained from a satellite propagator has been performed. These time-series have been also analyzed in order to obtain the worst-case albedo and OLR profiles that maximize and minimize the temperatures in the orbit. The recommended European Space Agency (ESA) software for thermal analyses, ESATAN-TMS, is usually used for constant albedo and OLR analyses but it can be configured for allowing time-dependent profiles.

Description

David González-Bárcena, Universidad Politécnica de Madrid
Angel Sanz-Andres, Instituto Universitario de Micrograverdad "Ignacio da Riva"
Isabel Perez-Grande, Universidad Politécnica de Madrid
Juan Bermejo-Ballesteros, Universidad Politécnica de Madrid
ICES107: Thermal Design of Microsatellites, Nanosatellites, and Picosatellites
The 50th International Conference on Environmental Systems was held virtually on 12 July 2021 through 14 July 2021.

Keywords

Thermal Environment, Albedo, OLR

Citation