摘要:
A heat transport apparatus comprises an evaporator saddle having a pair of bores for housing two evaporators. The apparatus also comprises a condenser saddle having a pair of bores defining two condensers. One embodiment comprises a first loop heat pipe having a first condenser in fluid communication with a first evaporator, and a second loop heat pipe having a second condenser in fluid communication with a second evaporator. The two loop heat pipes share a single evaporator saddle and a single condenser saddle. A continuous conductance heat pipe may be placed in contact with either the evaporator saddle or the condenser saddle.
摘要:
Controlling the solar torque imposed on a spacecraft (10) in flight by providing a film (52) with variable absorptive, reflective, emissive and/or transmissive properties on the sun side of a thermal shield (50) of the spacecraft (10). As the orientation of the thermal shield (50) changes relative to the sun line, the absorptive, reflective, emissive and/or transmissive properties of the shield (50) change to cause the shield's (50) center of solar pressure to change, thus aligning it with the spacecraft (10) center of mass (24) as viewed from the direction of the sun line. In accordance with another embodiment of the invention, the spacecraft (100) is provided with a plurality of control vanes (110-116) that have a variable absorptive, transmissive, reflective and emissive property to maintain the spacecraft (100) stably pointed towards the sun.
摘要:
A sensor system for monitoring for the presence of contamination with one or more contaminating biological, chemical and/or radioactive agents on a terrain surface, and creating a contamination map thereof. The sensor system includes a plurality of sensor pods, a ground station, an airborne dispensing portion, and an airborne monitoring portion. The sensor pods include a pod housing, a descent slowing airfoil, a detector unit for detection of the contaminating agent and outputting contaminating agent data, a processor for processing the contaminating agent data, a GPS unit for determining the position of the sensor, and a transmitter for transmitting contamination agent data and position data to the airborne monitoring portion. The airborne monitoring portion receives the transmitted data from the sensor pods, and relays the data to the ground station, where the contamination map is made available.
摘要:
Heat dissipating apparatus or system for dissipating heat generated by a payload on a spacecraft having a plurality of surfaces. The system includes at least one radiator-condenser coupled to one or more of the surfaces of the spacecraft and a heat pump including an evaporator, a compressor, and an expansion valve coupled in a closed-loop manner to the radiator-condenser. The system components are coupled together using small diameter, thin- and smooth-walled tubing. The system enables the radiator-condenser to be elevated above the source or payload temperature, and, along with the use of thin walled tubing, reduces the mass of the spacecraft. Because the radiator-condenser temperatures are elevated, multiple surfaces of the spacecraft (west, east, earth and aft) can be effectively used as radiating surfaces.
摘要:
There is provided a technique for removing unwanted heat from a heat generating device 12 operating aboard a space vehicle orbiting in outer space by placing a heat conductive interface 10 between the device and a support platform 14. The interface 10 comprises an array of spaced apart strips 16 made of aluminum aligned in spaced apart relationship so that the array covers the heat dissipating surface 20 at the underside of the device, the strips 16 are configured by deformable protuberances, such corrugations 22 which flatten under compression forces forming a heat conductive interface between the device 12 and the platform 14.
摘要:
Carbon fiber material and carbon fiber material that is saturated with hydrocarbon solid-liquid phase change material may be used as thermal management materials for providing a thermally conductive interface between a heat source and its housing. Such carbon fiber material may also be used for mechanical isolation of the heat source from its housing. Carbon fibers used in the carbon fiber material may be unidirectionally oriented to provide for low friction, thus optimizing critically controlled friction tolerances. Additionally the carbon fiber material saturated with hydrocarbon solid-liquid phase change material may be used to transfer heat into the an inherently nonconductive medium.
摘要:
In a method and evaporator device for evaporating a low temperature liquid medium, such as hydrogen for example, the hydrogen is first evaporated and at least partially superheated in a forward-flowing first channel, and is then directed to flow back in the opposite direction in a second return-flowing channel. The second channel is especially interposed between the first channel and a passage through which flows a heat-providing medium such as a hot exhaust gas. Thus, the superheated hydrogen flowing in the second channel serves as an intermediate layer for heat transfer from the heat-providing medium through the hydrogen in the second channel to the low temperature, initially liquid hydrogen in the first channel. The heat exchange surfaces in contact with the heat-providing medium are not directly adjacent the extremely cold surfaces in contact with the in-flowing low temperature liquid hydrogen, and the superheated hydrogen acts as a buffer between the hot side and the cold side of the evaporator. As a result, the evaporator has a very low structural weight, and condensation and icing problems can be avoided even when using a hot medium and a cold medium having extremely different temperatures.
摘要:
A spacecraft electronics equipment module that is thermally independent of a core spacecraft structure to which it can be mounted. The module takes the form of a thermal radiation panel on which electronic components are directly mounted. The panel is attachable to the core structure and includes its own double-sided radiator for cooling of the electronics components, an integral heater for raising the temperature is needed, a thermal controller, for automatically regulating the temperature of the module components, and heatpipes for distributing the heat more uniformly across the radiating surfaces.
摘要:
The integration of traveling wave tube amplifiers and multiplexers onto passive transmit array antenna panels deployed out board of a spacecraft bus to simultaneously provide a spacecraft transponder that permits antenna pattern flexibility in orbit, high DC to RF power conversion efficiency, facilitates higher spacecraft power and provides a spacecraft with deployed payload panel architecture having multiple independent beams that can be electronically reconfigured on the ground or in orbit.
摘要:
One or more deployable thermal panels (24, 28, 70) are actively controlled throughout the orbit of a satellite (20) to provide thermal dissipation. Adjusting the incident angle between the panel (24, 28, 70) and the sun and controlling the flow of fluid through optional flexible heat pipes loads and unloads heat to provide thermal stability for components (62) which have special thermal requirements. An optional antenna panel (70) on a nadir side (64) of the satellite (20) offers an antenna side (74) on one surface and a thermal radiating side (72) on an opposing surface. In addition, thermal panel movements are controlled (96) to provide counter-disturbance torques (140).