A spacecraft includes a structural interface adapter for mating to a launch vehicle, at least one radiator panel, at least one interior equipment panel and a 3-D truss structure. The 3-D truss structure is mechanically coupled with the structural interface adapter, the at least one radiator panel, and the at least one interior equipment panel, and at least a portion of the 3-D truss structure is disposed between the radiator panel and the interior panel.

Disclosed is a spacecraft including: a housing defining an exterior space, the housing having a first face and a second face; and first and second radiators carried by the first and second faces, the first and second radiators each having an inner main face, an outer main face, and side faces. The spacecraft includes a first auxiliary radiator and a first auxiliary heat transfer device thermally connecting the first auxiliary radiator to the inner main face of the second radiator, the first auxiliary radiator being arranged in a first portion of the exterior space defined by the outer main face of the first radiator and by first planes containing the side faces of the first radiator. The first auxiliary heat transfer device includes a heat conducting device. The first auxiliary radiator is composed solely of one or two radiating panels supporting the heat conducting device.

A passive thermal system for use in satellites includes a solid radiator panel with a plurality of heat pipes attached to a surface thereof. In addition to their heat transporting capability, the heat pipes strengthen the radiator panel to which they are coupled. In some embodiments, the heat pipes are structurally modified to increase their area moment of inertia.

A cooling assembly includes walls extending around and defining an enclosed vapor chamber that holds a working fluid. An interior porous wick structure is disposed inside the chamber and lines interior surfaces of the walls. The wick structure includes pores that hold a liquid phase of the working fluid. The cooling assembly also includes an exterior porous wick structure lining exterior surfaces of the walls outside of the vapor chamber. The exterior wick structure includes pores that hold a liquid phase of a cooling fluid outside the vapor chamber. The interior wick structure holds the liquid working fluid until heat from an external heat source vaporizes the working fluid inside the vapor chamber. The exterior wick structure holds the liquid fluid outside the vapor chamber until heat from inside the vapor chamber vaporizes the liquid cooling fluid in the exterior wick structure for transferring heat away from the heat source.

Described herein is a heater for space equipment that includes a heat pipe. The heater also includes a first layer applied to the heat pipe. The first layer may be made from an electrically non-conductive material. The heater additionally includes a resistance heater printed onto the first layer after the first layer is applied to the heat pipe. The heater includes a second layer adjacent the resistance heater. The resistance heater may be positioned between the first layer and the second layer, and the second layer may be made from an electrically non-conductive material.

A hybrid communications assembly for a spacecraft is provided. The hybrid communications assembly may include an assembly base, one or more laser communications terminals mounted on the assembly base, and a radio frequency antenna system mounted on the assembly base. The assembly may be mounted on an earth deck of the spacecraft, and the laser communications terminals may be mounted at an angle between 20 and 70 degrees with respect to the earth deck. A thermal radiator may be mounted on the assembly base and thermally coupled to the laser communications terminal. The radio frequency antenna system may be disposed between the laser communications terminals. The radio frequency antenna system may include one or more antenna reflectors mounted on the assembly base and one or more antenna feeds mounted on a tower.

A deployable radiator panel system for a small spacecraft includes fusible metal thermal hinge having a hinge leaf affixed to a spacecraft fixed radiator panel and the corresponding hinge leaf affixed to a deployable radiator panel with fusible metal filling the interstices between knuckles of each leaf to provide a conductive heat transfer path from the spacecraft fixed radiator panel through its leaf to the intervening fusible metal and then to the deployable radiator panel leaf and finally to the deployable radiator panel. A method is provided to heat and melt the fusible metal, release the deployable radiator panel from a stowed position, apply torque to open the fusible thermal metal hinge and latch the deployable radiator panel in a deployed position, and cool and solidify fusible metal.

A profile section for an equipment support panel. The profile section is formed in one piece, comprising a tube suitable for forming a heat pipe by introducing and confining a heat-transfer fluid inside of same, and a groove provided to form a rail along its length for securing at least one piece of equipment supported by the panel, this groove being shaped to form-fittingly engage with an attachment member rigidly connected to the at least one piece of equipment.

Inner panels including at least one built-in heat pipe connected in a circumferential direction are provided. In a heat pipe panel including the built-in heat pipe, apparatuses are mounted on the outer side of the plural inner panels connected in the circumferential direction to diffuse generated heat of the apparatuses to the circumferential direction of the inner panels. Webbed panels including a built-in heat pipe horizontally arranged and having heat radiation surfaces are radially arranged at corners of the inner panels as well as a heat pipe is horizontally built in and heat radiation surfaces are arranged also on outer panels facing the inner panels to thermally connect the heat pipes to one another.

A telecommunications satellite stabilized on three axes includes a set of dissipative equipment constituting a payload of the satellite. The satellite includes support data transmission antennas and is substantially parallelepipedal in shape with the panels forming two opposite faces, east and west faces. The panels form two additional opposite faces, north and south faces, and include radiator surfaces on their external faces. The radiator surfaces are configured to cool the electronic equipment of the satellite. The equipment installed on the north and south panels dissipate thermal power corresponding to less than 25% of the total dissipated power.