Recently the webinar Future of Small Satellite Thermal Control was held on the 30th of September.

ISISPACE and Royal NLR have joined forces and taken on the challenge by revisiting not only conventional passive thermal control systems (such as heat pipes with water or other coolants and phase-change materials, and demonstrating them as a proof of concept when applied to CubeSats) but also active thermal control. A ground-breaking development of particular interest is the rise of the mini Mechanically Pumped Loop (mini-MPL) for CubeSats and microsatellites. This active thermal control system offers the heat collection and transport needed for upcoming high-performance small-satellite missions. The system was presented during the webinar, along with test results and the steps planned for bringing it to the small-satellite market.

In addition to tailoring hardware for small-satellite applications, a new thermal modelling approach has been developed. CubeSats have claimed their market share thanks to their rapid design and development and subsequently low costs. Their thermal modelling and analyses need to be adapted to that philosophy as well. Modular modelling is key for rapid development and NLR and ISISPACE have cleared the way by successfully deploying rapid thermal modelling in ESATAN-TMS. ISISPACE and NLR have set up and carried out a thermal model verification process that can be used by everyone.

Do you want to know more, watch the webinar!

And if you have any questions after watching the webinar, please send an e-mail to: webinar@nlr.nl