Development of a 5-watt 70 K passive radiator
Abstract
Future space-based, infrared, earth surveillance systems may one day be cooled by large heat-pipe radiators operating at 70 deg K or even as low as 40 deg K. The use of passive radiators could eliminate the need for mechanical refrigerators and the attendant problems of power consumption and long-life reliability. A large two-stage heat-pipe radiator was developed for testing on the ground to verify the thermal performance and structural integrity of large, multiwatt, passive cryogenic radiators. The radiator has a projected base area of 8.1 sq m and is designed to reject a 5-W heat load to space at 70 deg K. The radiator design includes three oxygen heat pipes which transport the 5-W heat load from a simulated detector focal plane and distribute it over the second-stage radiator surface. The radiator is also designed to withstand the launch environment imposed by a Shuttle orbiter or a Titan III launch. Design tradeoffs are discussed, and the final radiator design configuration is described. Preliminary thermal vacuum test results and thermal model predictions are presented.
- Publication:
-
AIAA, 15th Thermophysics Conference
- Pub Date:
- July 1980
- Bibcode:
- 1980thph.confR....W
- Keywords:
-
- Cryogenic Equipment;
- Heat Pipes;
- Spacecraft Radiators;
- Focal Plane Devices;
- Heat Shielding;
- Mathematical Models;
- Spacecraft Design;
- Thermal Vacuum Tests;
- Fluid Mechanics and Heat Transfer