Speaker
Description
Furukawa Electric has a long heritage in the development and manufacturing of heat pipe modules for terrestrial thermal management applications. Based on these proven technologies, the company has been developing a heat pipe module optimized for spacecraft thermal control applications.
The developed module integrates heat transport and heat spreading functions to efficiently transfer heat from electronic equipment to radiator surfaces. By optimizing the working fluid and internal structure, stable operation has been achieved over a temperature range from approximately −40°C to +100°C. In addition, the module exhibits anti-gravity performance, enabling flexible thermal design independent of installation orientation. Thermal performance testing of a module incorporating a heat pipe equivalent to 6 mm outer diameter demonstrated a thermal resistance below 0.1°C/W at a heat load of 15 W.
To verify its applicability to space missions, the heat pipe module will be installed on FUNADE, a demonstration satellite independently developed by Furukawa Electric and scheduled for launch in 2027. Prior to launch, a qualification campaign was conducted to evaluate the module under spacecraft environmental conditions. Environmental tests, including vibration and thermal-vacuum tests, were successfully completed, confirming the module's suitability for space applications without performance degradation.
This presentation introduces the development background, design concept, and qualification activities of the heat pipe module for spacecraft use. Thermal performance data obtained after environmental testing will be presented, together with the objectives and evaluation plan of the in-orbit demonstration mission on FUNADE. The results are expected to contribute to the future application of lightweight and efficient heat pipe modules for spacecraft thermal control systems.