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Lemercier_62661900_2025.pdf
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- With the recent rise of satellite constellations in low Earth orbit (LEO), driven by applications such as global communications and Earth observation, manufacturing constraints are evolving. These satellites are typically small, standardized, and produced in large volumes. As a result, their design must balance performance, cost, and manufacturability. Thermal management is a key aspect of satellite design, as the heat generated by electronic components cannot be dissipated through air convection in space. Instead, heat must be conducted to the external panels and radiated away. Efficient thermal control is critical to maintain component reliability and ensure mission success. Traditionally, satellites use high-performance surfaces such as Optical Solar Reflectors (OSRs) on their radiative surfaces. These small mirrors combine high reflectivity in the visible spectrum with high emissivity in the infrared, enabling effective thermal regulation. However, OSRs are expensive and not well-suited for mass production in satellite constellations. Alternative surface treatments for aluminum-such as anodizing, paints, or coatings-should be considered to achieve adequate thermal control while remaining compatible with smaller satellite formats and large-scale production. Before selecting a surface treatment, thermal modeling of the full structure is needed. It helps define cooling requirements and guide design choices for effective and scalable thermal management. In this analysis, the focus is on thermal management of the batteries. The goal is to maintain the batteries at a certain temperature in any orbit. Depending on the satellite’s trajectory, it will receive more or less solar and albedo heat fluxes. The thermal design is calibrated in the worst-case scenario for battery cooling-the warmest orbit. Heaters are then used to add heat in colder orbits and keep the batteries within the required temperature range. This approach ensures the maximum and minimum allowable temperatures are never exceeded and allows for a flexible thermal management system. A thermal behavior analysis is conducted on a simple and general configuration. Based on this setup, and knowing all fluxes exchanged with the environment and within the satellite, the temperatures can be calculated. The model includes received and emitted radiative fluxes, thermal coupling between components, and the thermal inertia of each part. Finally, based on the thermal requirements and model results, a range of surface treatments is explored to optimize thermal control. A trade-off analysis is performed considering performance, manufacturability, and cost, to propose practical and scalable solutions for this specific application.