qualification of an infrared array using tubular heaters for heat flux simulation for spacecraft testing

Paper number

IAC-09.C2.I.6

Author

Dr. Denio Lemos Panissi, National Institute for Space Research - INPE , Brazil

Coauthor

Dr. Jose Sergio Almeida, Instituto Nacional de Pesquisas Espaciais (INPE), Brazil

Coauthor

Dr. Marcio Bueno dos Santos, Instituto Nacional de Pesquisas Espaciais (INPE), Brazil

Coauthor

Dr. Ezio Castejon Garcia, Instituto Tecnológico de Aeronáutica - ITA, Brazil

Year

2009

Abstract

Space Simulation dedicated to the qualification of space flight hardware is known to be expensive and of long-duration testing activities. Reliable and more practical alternatives to the high-cost Solar Simulation technique are frequently in search by spacecraft testing laboratories located around the world. 
This paper presents the work carried out at the laboratories of the Brazilian Institute for Space Research regarding the development of the infrared array (IRA) using tubular heaters and a baffle in order to simulate the incident orbital heat flux on the remote sensing camera surface, during thermal balance testing of the China-Brazil Earth Recourse Satellite.
Considering that a larger number of tubular heaters will produce better uniformity of heat flux, whilst during the simulation of the eclipse condition this will also create a limited view-factor from the spacecraft surface to the vacuum chamber cold walls, the opposite situation will also be true.
With the goal to optimizing the IRA configuration shape in order to obtain the prescribed heat flux uniformity and intensity on the camera optical surface during its orbital simulation, a thermal model was developed through SINDA - Thermal Desktop software.
From this thermal model, the IRA setup was constructed using standard sized tubular heaters and an aluminum baffle with its internal and external surfaces finished by high reflective tape and black paint, respectively.
The IRA heat flux emission was calibrated and tested in a thermal-vacuum chamber at approximately 100 K. In order to precisely measure the absorbed heat flux, a large quantity of radiometers was positioned in a surface maintained at a certain distance of the tubular heater array.
The results from the extensive thermal vacuum testing proved that the developed IRA setup was able to obtain heat flux uniformity better than 95%, with a minimum of restriction of the view-factor to the thermal-vacuum chamber cold walls during the simulation of the eclipse condition with no power applied to the tubular heaters.


Keywords: Infrared Radiation, Spacecraft Testing Techniques, Space Simulation

Abstract document

IAC-09.C2.I.6.pdf

Manuscript document

(absent)