Active Thermal Architecture: Design and Status

This paper presents a design update for the Active Thermal Architecture (ATA) project. ATA is a joint effort between Utah State University and the Jet Propulsion Laboratory, funded by the NASA Small Spacecraft Technology Program (SSTP). The objective of the ATA is to develop advanced active thermal control technologies for Small Satellites in support of cryogenic electro-optical instrumentation. Specifically, the development of a 1U ground-based prototype of a single-phase, two-stage mechanically pumped fluid loop based active thermal control subsystem targeted at 6U CubeSat platforms and above. The first stage utilizes a micro-pump to circulate working fluid between an integrated heat exchanger and a deployed tracking radiator. This heat exchange provides general thermal management to the ATA system and CubeSat. The second stage consists of a miniature cryocooler, which directly provides cryogenic cooling to payload instrumentation. Ultrasonic Additive Manufacturing techniques simplify and miniaturize the ATA system by embedding the flow channels directly into the heat exchanger and the external radiator. The ATA system features dual rotary union fluid joints that, along with a micro-motor, allow for a two-axis deployment of the radiator and solar tracking. The ATA also includes a passive vibration control system which, isolates the optical payload from the jitter induced by the active systems. ATA has been fully prototyped and tested for radiator deployment and tracking. ATA is a second phase effort with the integrated pumped fluid loop and radiator previously demonstrated by the Active CryoCubeSat SSTP. This technology is suited for the thermal control of any high-powered spacecraft subsystem or the general thermal maintenance of a CubeSat’s environment. This project hopes to maturate all relevant technologies to a TRL of 5 or