Microvascular Composite Radiators for Small Spacecraft Thermal Management Systems

Small spacecraft have typically relied on thermal control systems in which waste heat is simply conducted though structural elements to the surface where it is radiated away. This simplistic approach is adequate for low-complexity missions to LEO, but increasingly complex mission profiles are being proposed including missions to deep space locations which present a harsher thermal environment as well as incorporating advanced capabilities which have challenging thermal control requirements such as cryogenically cooled sensors or propulsion systems. The University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, in partnership with NASA Ames Research Center, is developing a thermal control system for small spacecraft utilizing a deployable radiator made of a micro-vascular composite material, through which a coolant can be circulated. These microvascular composite radiators contain tiny channels, as small as 100 micrometer diameter, which can only be manufactured using a novel fabrication technique developed at the University of Illinois, the Vaporization of Sacrificial Components (VaSC). Early mission concepts were evaluated to determine the design guidelines for the cooling system definition. Moving forward, thermal vacuum testing of the prototype will raise the TRL to 6 by the end of the two year development program.