Speakers
Description
The accurate temperature regulation of system or sub-system is a key enabler for space scientific missions, especially when observation instruments are considered. The thermal management of optical technologies are critical and may require a fine temperature control with accurate stability, and a homogeneous temperature field. Thermal buses composed by CCHPs and VCHPs propose high reliability and performances in micro-gravity, but on-ground testability induces the management of the gravity aspects, amplified with possible out-of-plane geometries and spacecraft orientations limitations. The gravity effects of planetary missions or induced by spacecraft movement can also be considered.
The proposed paper exposes the gravity impacts observed during the testing of a spacecraft designed for observation mission, which relies on the cold operating temperature regulation (around -30°C) in a complex geometrical configuration (not planar). The on-ground tests sequence shall be secured using additional heater to mitigate the gravity induced temperature instabilities on CCHPs. Also, a specific focus is done on Variable Conductance Heat Pipes (VCHP) to expose how their behavior is affected by gravity. A specific thermal test campaign has been realized to better understand these phenomena.
