A thermal analysis and design tool for small spacecraft

Abstract

A THERMAL ANALYSIS AND DESIGN TOOL FOR SMALL SPACECRAFT by Cassandra Belle VanOutryve SatTherm is a simple thermal analysis tool for small spacecraft that has been developed in collaboration with the Mission Design Center at NASA Ames and San Jose State University. A comparison of the ease of use and accuracy of results is made between SatTherm, and the commercially available Thermal Desktop software by Cullimore & Ring Technologies. Several benchmark cases are presented, including a model of the small spacecraft PharmaSat. The non-steady temperatures predicted by the SatTherm model agree with those predicted by the Thermal Desktop model within 4 °C or less. This demonstrates that SatTherm can be a useful tool for the early design stage of a small spacecraft. A C K N O W L E D G E M E N T S First and foremost I would like to thank Millan Diaz-Aguado for his willingness to teach me all that he knows about thermal analysis, answer my unending questions, and help debug stubborn code. His overall support of this project was crucial to its success. I would also like to thank Dr. Papadopoulos and Dr. Mourtos for being on my thesis committee. Special thanks goes to Belgacem Jaroux and the NASA Ames Mission Design Center for use of their facilities and providing an excellent learning environment. I am also very grateful to Education Associates Program for their funding and support. Finally, I would like to thank my parents, Dirk and Andrea VanOutryve, and my future husband, Tom Allison, for their untiring love and support that has been so important to me through the years, and will continue to be for years to come.