During operational period, the satellite must cope with a volatile external environment. A spacecraft must endure deep space, solar/ planetary flux and internal heat among other factors.

The components used in the satellite have a limit on their operating temperature. Any operation beyond these limits may deteriorate the performance of the system or subsystems. It is thus essential to keep the components within their working temperatures. Thus the aim is to ensure smaller thermal gradients and little to no thermal stress across the components / structures.

A thermal control system of a spacecraft can be implemented in two ways

•   A Passive Thermal control System with MLI sheets, OSR and surface coatings as key components.

•   An Active Thermal Control System using electric heaters and heat pipes.

Active or Passive, Data Patterns is equipped to tailor design solutions for varied thermal management challenges.