Improving low temperature radiator based cooling system for low earth orbit satellites

Abstract

As radiators are the key cooling technique is satellite cooling systems, improving the performance of radiators was major concern in last few decades. As a solution, active cooling techniques were incorporated with radiators. This technology not only helps in improving performance but also in reducing the size of radiators which is a major concern in low earth orbit satellite. In this paper, integration of peltier elements with satellite radiators and heat pipes is discussed. A design was developed using those techniques. Investigated and verified the results using a thermal simulation model. The design was optimized using the results obtained from simulation. A breadboard setup was built up to observe the performance of the peltier elements. In addition, incorporation of peltier elements in future applications was investigated.