Microelectromechanical devices for satellite thermal control

Future space missions will include constellations of spacecraft, including nano- and picosatellites, where adaptive thermal control systems will be needed that fit the constraints of space applications with limited power and mass budgets. A microelectromechanical systems (MEMS) solution has been dev...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:IEEE sensors journal 2004-08, Vol.4 (4), p.525-531
Main Authors: Osiander, R., Firebaugh, S.L., Champion, J.L., Farrar, D., Darrin, M.A.G.
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Adaptive systems
Control systems
Lighting control
Microelectromechanical devices
Microelectromechanical systems
Micromechanical devices
Satellites
Space missions
Space technology
Space vehicles
Thermal management
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Summary:Future space missions will include constellations of spacecraft, including nano- and picosatellites, where adaptive thermal control systems will be needed that fit the constraints of space applications with limited power and mass budgets. A microelectromechanical systems (MEMS) solution has been developed that will vary the emissivity on the surface of the small satellite radiator. The system is based on louver thermal controllers, where panels are mechanically positioned to modulate the effective radiator surface area. This system consists of MEMS arrays of gold-coated sliding shutters, fabricated with the Sandia ultraplanar, multilevel MEMS technology fabrication process, which utilizes multilayer polycrystalline silicon surface micromachining. The shutters can be operated independently to allow digital control of the effective emissivity. This first demonstrator technology is limited in the possible emittance range to a 40% change. Early prototypes of MEMS louvers that open away from the structure have shown the capability of a much wider dynamic range. The first generation of this active thermal management system will be demonstrated on NASA's New Millennium Program ST-5 spacecraft. With the opportunity to validate the MEMS thermal control technology in space on ST-5, lightweight, low-power MEMS radiators offer a possibility for flexible thermal control on future nanosatellites.
ISSN:1530-437X
1558-1748
DOI:10.1109/JSEN.2004.830297