Speakers
Description
For all its satellites, Airbus Defence and Space relies on top-level technology to implement the Thermal Control System. This Thermal Control System shall ensure that payload and/or equipment heat dissipation is transported and spread onto the S/C cold sinks (radiators) efficiently enough to maintain temperatures in the allowable ranges.
For this duty, some of the most advanced thermo-fluidic components available on the market are the AG190 Heat pipe (HP) and dual-core Loop Heat Pipe (LHP²) designed and produced by EHP.
Both these two products present very high performance for a very affordable price. However, their accurate capabilities, like the upper heat transport limit at very high temperatures, are not well determined, since on ground testing is influencing these figures due to gravity.
For such thermo-fluidic components, only in-orbit testing can be considered as reliable. Therefore, EHP and Airbus Defence and Space have jointly designed, produced and tested in orbit a demonstrator carrying one AG190 and one dual-core LHP². This experiment has allowed to perform accurate performance mapping & determination of operating limits over a range of temperatures & powers for both products.
The presentation will report this joint activity and describe the main outcomes of the experiment.
