Numerical Study on the Thermal Control of the TriG Receiver for FORMOSAT-7 Satellite

The FORMOSAT-7 (FS-7) satellite constellation collect atmospheric and ionospheric data primarily for operational weather forecasting and space weather monitoring to fulfill the needs of Taiwan, the US, and the rest of the world. Because of the relative high power consumption and limited temperature requirement, TriG receiver (TriGR) becomes a critical component for thermal control. A thermal model is developed to examine the temperature feasibility of TriGR at the preliminary design phase. Parametric studies including the sizes of radiators, the thicknesses and the lateral thermal conductances of honeycomb panels. Results show that the effect of thermal conduction is more significant than thermal radiation by comparing the influences of the lateral thermal conductance of honeycomb panel and the sizes of radiators. Moreover, it is found that both the thermal conductance between middle platform and wall panels, and the lateral thermal conductance of honeycomb panel are the main factors for thermal control of TriGR. A careful consideration for the bracket used between the middle platform and wall panels is therefore needed to guarantee the performance of it.