Variable Emissivity Surfaces for Micro and Nano-satellites

Micro and Nano-satellites with their low thermal capacitance are vulnerable to rapid temperature fluctuations. Therefore, thermal control becomes more important, but the limitations on mass and electrical power require new approaches. Possible solutions to actively vary the heat rejection of the satellite in response to variations in the thermal load and environmental condition are the use of a variable emissivity surfaces (VES), such as thermochromic, electrochromic, micro louvers and thermal switches, etc. Micro louvers with small volume, low weight, less power consumption and large emissivity variation, will be the more suitable solution for micro and Nano-satellites. In this paper, a polymer micro louver is developed. The design and fabrication of a prototype of micro louvers are described. The actuation voltage of the micro louver's analytic model is also discussed. Finally, the experimental results for the actuation voltage and emissivity variations that measured on these prototypes are presented.