Thermal Engineering for Cryocoolers on Small Satellites

In recent years there has been a significant shift to save launch and build costs of spacecraft by making them smaller and more capable, so that now they form the majority of objects in space. For example, 94% of the satellites launched in 2021 were small spacecraft.

As the functions of these platforms increase, so do their power requirements. This is typically solved by increasing the size of deployable solar panel arrays. However, the power demand poses another challenge for subsystem integrators, which is thermal regulation within the vehicle. The low thermal mass of small craft mean that the are more reactive to changing thermal environments, and the small internal volume means that subsystems are packed more closely, and thus more thermally coupled.

Thermal energy can only be transferred by radiation from a spacecraft in flight, and small craft also have limited surface area. Further research is required to understand the constraints and develop passive systems for temperature regulation. This PhD will focus on thermal solutions for operating cryocoolers in small spacecraft.