Integrated active thermal control is a critical enabling technology for high-powered modern CubeSats and Small Satellites. We will discuss the design and development of the Active Thermal Architecture (ATA), a sub 1U integrated, active thermal control system based on a single-phase mechanically pumped fluid loop heat exchanger. The ATA leverages advanced Ultrasonic Additive Manufacturing (UAM) to directly incorporate the cooling channels into the spacecraft structure, creating multi-functional assemblies that help miniaturize and simplify the ATA system. The ATA also optimizes thermal rejection through a two-axis rotary fluid joint connected to an external deployable tracking radiator. The ATA is capable of bulk thermal rejection and zonal temperature control of payloads and CubeSat structures. The ATA will be featured on the upcoming Active Cooling for Multispectral Earth Sensors (ACMES) mission and will serve as payload support to the next-generation Hyperspectral Longwave IR (HyTI 2.0) instrument. HyTI is an advanced next-generation hyperspectral long-wave IR ground imager capable of producing LandSat equivalent science from a CubeSat platform. HyTI produces 25 spectral bands between 8 μm to12 μm with a ground sampling distance better than 45 meters. ACMES will also feature two student lead projects: The Filter Incidence Narrow-band Infrared Spectrometer (FINIS), a daytime Methane detector, and the Planar Langmuir Impedance Diagnostic (PLAID) instrument, a planar style RF impedance probe. ACMES is scheduled to launch to an approximate 550 km SSO orbit in late 2024. ACMES is funded by the NASA Earth Science Technology Office (ESTO) through an In-Space Validation (InVEST) grant.
The Active Cooling for Multispectral Earth Sensors (ACMES) is a 16U CubeSat technology demonstration mission funded by the NASA Earth Science Technology Office through the In-space Validation of Earth Science Technologies program. ACMES has two technology payloads for Earth IR imaging. The LWIR scientific instrument is the next generation Hyperspectral Thermal Imager (HyTI 2.0). HyTI-2.0 has 25 spectral bands between 8 μm to12.5 μm, and a ground sampling distance of 45 meters. The SWIR instrument is the Filter Incidence Narrow-band Infrared Spectrometer (FINIS) which is a compact and a lightweight instrument for measuring methane with a moderate spatial resolution (approximately 140 m) and wide field of view (approximately 10°). FINIS can both measure the methane concentration dispersed over large regions and detect point source emissions by observing individual plumes. Key to the ACMES mission is a miniature pumped fluid loop technology developed for CubeSats, the Active Thermal Architecture for removing the waste heat from this approximate 120W spacecraft. ACMES is planned to launch in late 2024 to an approximate 550 km SSO orbit with a one-year technology demonstration followed by an extended mission to collect scientific data with HyTI 2.0 and FINIS. ACMES is a joint development effort between Utah State University, Orion Space Solutions, and the Hawaii Space Flight Laboratory.
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