SBIR-STTR Award

This Phase I SBIR will develop a new and novel method of controlling the radiated energy from the surface of a spacecraft. It is based on an existing device, an electrostatic switched radiator (ESR), which has demonstrated large changes in radiated energy as measured in space-like conditions. The device works by switching the heat transfer mode from conduction to radiation and has demonstrated changes in LWIR emissivity over .7. This proposal will take the existing structure and fabricate it as an appliqué which can be easily applied to a surface. Presently, the ESR requires a separate, rigid substrate. Although with this substrate, it is still lighter than alternative approaches, this proposal will fabricate this device as a surface coating appliqué which can be applied easily to most surfaces to control the heat radiated from the surface. Using a combination of molding and MEM’s-like fabrication techniques, a lightweight coating less than .004 thick with a emissivity change greater than .8 and with an operating voltage below 30 volts, will be developed. This is a new and important tool for temperature control in space and will be suitable for virtually all satellites. Anticipated Benefits/Commercial Applications: A new and novel radiation control system is proposed which will have multiple uses in temperature control of satellites and spacecraft. It is lightweight which will be a major advantage in space applications and will have very wide range of emissivity, giving good thermal control. The approach also uses minimal power and is thus suited for all long mission time spacecraft/satellites.

Keywords:
emissivity, thermal , switchable, electrostatic

This Phase II SBIR will develop a new and novel device to control the radiated energy from a spacecraft. It is based on an existing device, an electrostatic switched radiator (ESR), which has already demonstrated large changes in radiated energy as measured in space-like conditions. The device works by switching the heat transfer mode from conduction to radiation and has demonstrated changes in emissivity over .7. This proposal will take the existing ESR and fabricate it as an appliquT with higher performance then competing technologies. This appliquT will replace the rigid substrate of the existing ESR with a self-contained conformal system which can be applied to the spacecraft with an adhesive, allowing fabrication and testing prior to assembly on the spacecraft. The phase I program showed, by analytical modeling, that the proposed structure is capable of high performance and also developed a process suitable for fabricating the appliquTs. The appliquT to be developed during the phase II, will be a lightweight coating less than .004" thick, have an electrically switchable emissivity change greater than .8 , an operating voltage below 24 volts and minimal power consumption.

Keywords:
Variable Emittance Device,Appliqu+,Space Based Heat Control