Thermal design and verification of micro remote-sensing satellite in low inclination orbit

There is a need to satisfy the thermal control requirements of satellite platforms, achieve precise temperature control of space camera trusses, and minimize the power consumption of thermal control systems. In this study, the heat dissipation channel of the electronic equipment was planned reasonably, and the high-precision temperature control of a space camera was designed. First, mission analysis was performed based on the satellite structure layout, the power consumption of the electronic equipment, and the heat flow in low inclination orbit, and thus, the key and difficult points of the thermal design were identified. Next, a detailed design of the satellite thermal control system was carried out. A calibration method for the temperature measurement circuit was proposed, a multilayer-surface temperature equalization approach was adopted, and heat exchange channels between different components were opened. Hence, the entire satellite resources were reasonably used for integrated thermal control design. Finally, satellite thermal balance tests were performed to verify the thermal design. The temperature of the satellite in orbit indicates that the electronic equipment temperature ranges from -0.5 to 28.8℃, and the temperature fluctuation and uniformity of the camera truss are lower than ±0.15℃. In addition, the average power consumption of the thermal control system in orbit is 9.3 W, which satisfies the temperature control index conditions of the platform and the focusing requirements of the camera. The weight of the thermal control subsystem is 1.5 kg, which accounted for only 3% of the total satellite weight. This study lays a good foundation for the thermal design of low-cost commercial remote-sensing satellites for future investigations. © 2020, Science Press. All right reserved.