Deployable Radiators East West Panel Mounting GEO Spacecraft
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Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional deployable radiators in GEO spacecraft require clearance cutouts to avoid interference with solar arrays and communication antennas, complicating their design, reducing thermal rejection capacity, and increasing costs.
Innovation Solution
Deployable radiators are mounted on the east and west panels of the spacecraft, allowing them to be deployed without interference, eliminating the need for clearance cutouts, and featuring a simple internal heat pipe arrangement for improved thermal rejection and manufacturing efficiency.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Object-affected harmful factors
If deployable radiators are stowed underneath the stowed solar arrays on north or south panels, then they minimize interference with communication antennas, but they require clearance cutouts that decrease thermal rejection capacity and complicate design
Solution Approach 1:
The deployable radiators are relocated from the traditional north/south panel stowage location to the east/west panels. This dimensional relocation in the spacecraft's coordinate system allows the radiators to be positioned where they do not interfere with either the solar arrays or the communication antennas, eliminating the need for clearance cutouts and maximizing thermal rejection capacity
2Adaptability or versatility
If deployable radiators include clearance cutouts to avoid interference with solar arrays, then they can be stowed underneath solar arrays, but the design becomes more complicated and manufacturing costs increase
Solution Approach 1:
The deployable radiators are extracted from the constrained stowage location underneath the solar arrays and repositioned to the east/west panels. This extraction eliminates the need for clearance cutouts, resulting in a simpler rectangular radiator design with straightforward internal heat pipe arrangements, while the radiators remain stowable on the spacecraft body
3Loss of energy
If deployable radiators are positioned at an angle greater than 90 degrees from the north-south axis, then the view factor to deep space is improved, but the deployment mechanism becomes more complex
Solution Approach 1:
The radiators are deployed to angles greater than 90 degrees from the north-south axis by utilizing the east/west panel mounting location. This angular positioning in a different dimensional orientation maximizes the view factor to deep space for thermal radiation, allowing the radiator backside to face away from the spacecraft body without requiring complex deployment mechanisms
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
This arrangement enhances thermal rejection capabilities by 50% and simplifies the design and manufacturing of deployable radiators, reducing costs and potential interferences, while allowing for efficient heat pipe configurations without clearance cutouts.
Implementation Method 1
a first rigid portion of a flexible heat pipe that also has a second rigid portion that is thermally coupled to a deployable radiator
Implementation Method 2
the view factor of the radiator backside to deep space is improved by positioning the radiator at an angle that exceeds 90 degrees, thereby improving the efficiency of the thermal control system
Data Source
AI summary
A geostationary earth orbit (GEO) spacecraft is disclosed that includes a body with north, east, south, and west sides and a north-south axis. The spacecraft has at least one deployable radiator rotatably coupled to the body. The deployable radiator has a stowed position proximate to one of the east and west sides and a deployed position that is greater than 90 degrees from the north-south axis in a direction away from the respective one of the east and west sides.