Speaker
Description
Thermal simulation and analysis impacts mission success and is becoming increasingly critical as thermal system complexity grows in the space industry. Despite this, it remains largely underrepresented in student satellite and low-gravity experiment projects. Beyond a limited number of papers covering general concepts, there is almost no documentation on concrete step-by-step analysis approaches. To address this gap, we conducted thermal analyses of two projects from the Scientific Association for Rocketry and Spaceflight at the Technical University of Munich.
Both simulations were conducted in COMSOL Multiphysics. For the MOVE-IIIa CubeSat, we performed orbital hot- and cold-case simulations and correlated the model against results from two thermal-vacuum test campaigns, which yielded improvements to the simulation and validated the design. For PEANUT — a student experiment on piezo actuated reaction wheels within the German-Swedish REXUS/BEXUS programme, organized by the German Aerospace Center (DLR) and the Swedish National Space Agency (SNSA) — we conducted a one way coupled 2D CFD and 3D heat-load simulation. The results directly influenced the experiment's design, demonstrating the need for a battery heater and confirming PCB stack survival under high Mach number convective heating during ascent.
With MOVE-IIIa's launch scheduled for late 2026, we will correlate our thermal model against real in-orbit flight data. The presented workflow and results are intended to serve as a reproducible reference for future student teams working in thermal engineering, lowering the barrier to hands-on experience in this field.
Presenting this work at ESTEW would offer the opportunity to gather industry feedback and further validate our approach, supporting its use as a reproducible reference for future student teams.