Predictive thermal analysis of the combat sentinel satellite test article

A detailed study of a small satellite thermal response to irradiation has been performed. This study analyzed the response of the Combat Sentinel Satellite Test Article (CSSTA) to an external radiation environment.; Once the irradiation thermal response of the satellite materials was understood, two thermal models of the satellite test article were created. The first thermal model was a 13-element lumped capacitance model. This model was used to study the thermal response of CSSTA as a function of heat transfer parameters. The 13-element model also provided a baseline solution to compare the final more detailed thermal model of the satellite. Following the creation of the 13-element model, a detailed I-deas Thermal Model Generator (TMG) model of the satellite was created. This model began as several individual TMG models of satellite components. (Abstract shortened by UMI.)...