Patent — available for licensing
CubeSat Form Factor Thermal Control Louvers
A NASA invention available to explore as a licensing opportunity.
About this technology
Overview
As small spacecraft become a part of NASAs repertoire of missions, one reoccurring theme is an increased need for thermal control as power budgets increase and tight instrument temperature tolerances are introduced on smaller platforms. Until now CubeSats have not needed thermal control outside of resistive heaters due to the low power and short lifespan of most CubeSat missions. However, in the past few years CubeSat solar panels have been developed by private companies which can produce up to 80W of power for a 3U (30X10X10 cm) spacecraft. Now, CubeSat and small satellite missions are being proposed which rise to meet this new technological envelope, with high power instruments and multiple months or years of mission life. Therefore it is critical that a thermal control system be designed for small spacecraft missions. The CubeSat Form Factor Thermal Control Louvers use passive thermal control to significantly improve the internal thermal stability of small spacecraft, creating a difference of several watts in dissipated heat between open and closed louvers.