{"project":{"acronym":"","projectId":93827,"title":"Variable Conductance Radiator: A Novel Lightweight, High Turndown Spacecraft Radiator Using Variable Heat Conductors","primaryTaxonomyNodes":[{"taxonomyNodeId":10932,"taxonomyRootId":8816,"parentNodeId":10929,"level":3,"code":"TX14.2.3","title":"Heat Rejection and Storage","definition":"This area includes technologies to more effectively reject heat on a flight. Technologies are needed to make these methods more reliable and standardized and increase the capability for effective ground testing. This area includes technologies that manage system heat primarily through the use of the thermal and/or optical properties of a given material. This area includes in-space and ground applications.","exampleTechnologies":"Radiators, radiator turn-down devices (e.g. louvers, heat switches, variable conductance heat pipes), phase change materials, transpiration cooling, heat sinks, optical coatings, variable coatings, sunshades, molten salts, cryogens, evaporation, boiling, condensation, autonomous radiator maintenance, dust tolerant radiators, high heat load 500 - 500 kW rejection","hasChildren":false,"hasInteriorContent":true}],"startTrl":1,"currentTrl":3,"endTrl":3,"benefits":"NASA's Thermal Management Roadmap emphasizes the need for variable heat rejection. As NASA moves beyond LEO, exploration vehicles and space instruments must accommodate various mission scenarios, operating in environments from full sun to deep space, managing a wide range of heat rejection. Variable radiators are needed that can be turned down to low heat flux in cold environments. Current state of the art turndown ratios are 4:1, NASA's goal is 6:1, and Quest's Variable Conductance Radiator (VCR) is modeled to have a turndown ratio of ~80:1. Advances in heat rejection technologies could provide more capable thermal control across a wider range of thermal environments and heat loads. Variable radiators offer substantial system-wide benefits, including lower power requirements to maintain spacecraft temperatures in cold environments. Variable radiators are an important enabling technology needed for NASA's future exploration and science missions. It is needed for NASA Design Reference Missions 8 & 9, which are crewed missions to Mars. Both NASA Science and Space Technology Mission Directorates are seeking new technology. VCR technology, if proven successful, could be infused into future NASA spacecraft, including manned spacecraft, robotic exploration vehicles, Earth observing satellites, science and interplanetary spacecraft. VSR could help NASA meet needs for improved spacecraft thermal control for various spacecraft and mission environments.
All commercial satellites require thermal control systems. The purpose of the thermal control system is to maintain the spacecraft or satellite within allowable temperature limits for all thermal environments it operates in. Spacecraft and related equipment (such as electronics or optics/sensors) require some level of thermal control, and the design approach and technologies employed vary widely depending on application. As spacecraft power levels increase and mission environments become more complex, more flexible and capable thermal control systems and mechanisms are needed. A new, advanced, low mass, highly variable radiator would be of interest to satellite manufacturers, and once proven out and tested, could be fairly rapidly adopted and incorporated into new satellite thermal control systems. New satellites are being built and launched at an increasing rate, there were 285 large satellites launched in 2014. Many of these new spacecraft are high power requiring good thermal control and heat rejection capability. The target markets for VCR technology are satellites and spacecraft. This includes future NASA spacecraft and commercial satellites, including those for communications, Earth observing and remote sensing, Defense, science, navigation, Earth imaging and meteorology. Aerospace companies supplying radiators include Orbital ATK, Lockheed Martin/Vought, Sierra Nevada Corp and SSL. These suppliers are target commercial customers for this new technology.","description":"Spacecraft thermal control is a critical element to maintaining spacecraft, manned, unmanned or robotic, at proper temperatures for humans, instruments and electronics to function properly. Simple, passive thermal control in which excess heat is radiated to space via blackbody radiators used to be adequate, however, as spacecraft power levels increase and mission environments become more complex, more flexible and capable thermal control systems and mechanisms are needed. Variable heat rejection is an enabling technology to reliably vary heat rejection during human and robotic spaceflight missions with wide variation in thermal environments & vehicle heat loads. Quest Thermal Group is proposing a novel Variable Conductor Radiator (VCR) that uses actuated heat conductors within an IMLI structure to control heat conduction. A VCR could provide both high and very low heat rejection, operating as both effective radiators and high performance insulation, and capable of turndown ratios of 80:1. The NASA 2012 TA14 Thermal Management Roadmap stated radiator advancement is perhaps the most critical thermal technology development for future spacecraft and space-based systems. NASA is seeking unique solutions for thermal control technology providing low mass highly reliable thermal control systems. As NASA moves beyond LEO, spacecraft must accommodate various mission scenarios and need variable heat rejection. Current state of the art variable radiators offer heat rejection turn-down ratios up to about 4:1. Phase I goals are to develop a new variable spacecraft radiator that can simply and efficiently provide a highly variable heat rejection using variable solid conduction within IMLI insulation, and prove feasibility of the VCR concept to help improve radiator capabilities for future NASA and commercial spacecraft. A VCR prototype will be modeled, designed, built and tested for thermal performance and variable heat rejection.","startYear":2017,"startMonth":6,"endYear":2017,"endMonth":12,"statusDescription":"Completed","principalInvestigators":[{"contactId":426439,"canUserEdit":false,"firstName":"Scott","lastName":"Dye","fullName":"Scott A Dye","fullNameInverted":"Dye, Scott A","middleInitial":"A","primaryEmail":"scott.dye@questthermal.com","publicEmail":true,"nacontact":false}],"programDirectors":[{"contactId":206378,"canUserEdit":false,"firstName":"Jason","lastName":"Kessler","fullName":"Jason L Kessler","fullNameInverted":"Kessler, Jason L","middleInitial":"L","primaryEmail":"jason.l.kessler@nasa.gov","publicEmail":true,"nacontact":false}],"programExecutives":[{"contactId":215154,"canUserEdit":false,"firstName":"Jennifer","lastName":"Gustetic","fullName":"Jennifer L Gustetic","fullNameInverted":"Gustetic, Jennifer L","middleInitial":"L","primaryEmail":"jennifer.l.gustetic@nasa.gov","publicEmail":true,"nacontact":false}],"programManagers":[{"contactId":62051,"canUserEdit":false,"firstName":"Carlos","lastName":"Torrez","fullName":"Carlos Torrez","fullNameInverted":"Torrez, Carlos","primaryEmail":"carlos.torrez@nasa.gov","publicEmail":true,"nacontact":false}],"projectManagers":[{"contactId":506055,"canUserEdit":false,"firstName":"Jeff","lastName":"Farmer","fullName":"Jeff Farmer","fullNameInverted":"Farmer, Jeff","primaryEmail":"Jeffery.T.Farmer@nasa.gov","publicEmail":true,"nacontact":false},{"contactId":461333,"canUserEdit":false,"firstName":"Theresa","lastName":"Stanley","fullName":"Theresa M Stanley","fullNameInverted":"Stanley, Theresa M","middleInitial":"M","primaryEmail":"theresa.m.stanley@nasa.gov","publicEmail":true,"nacontact":false}],"website":"","libraryItems":[{"file":{"fileExtension":"pdf","fileId":292155,"fileName":"SBIR_2017_1_BC_S3.06-9496","fileSize":41506,"objectId":288670,"objectType":{"lkuCodeId":889,"code":"LIBRARY_ITEMS","description":"Library Items","lkuCodeTypeId":182,"lkuCodeType":{"codeType":"OBJECT_TYPE","description":"Object Type"}},"objectTypeId":889,"fileSizeString":"40.5 KB"},"files":[{"fileExtension":"pdf","fileId":292155,"fileName":"SBIR_2017_1_BC_S3.06-9496","fileSize":41506,"objectId":288670,"objectType":{"lkuCodeId":889,"code":"LIBRARY_ITEMS","description":"Library Items","lkuCodeTypeId":182,"lkuCodeType":{"codeType":"OBJECT_TYPE","description":"Object Type"}},"objectTypeId":889,"fileSizeString":"40.5 KB"}],"id":288670,"title":"Briefing Chart","description":"Variable Conductance Radiator: A Novel Lightweight, High Turndown Spacecraft Radiator Using Variable Heat Conductors, Phase I Briefing Chart","libraryItemTypeId":1222,"projectId":93827,"primary":false,"publishedDateString":"","contentType":{"lkuCodeId":1222,"code":"DOCUMENT","description":"Document","lkuCodeTypeId":341,"lkuCodeType":{"codeType":"LIBRARY_ITEM_TYPE","description":"Library Item Type"}}},{"caption":"Variable Conductance Radiator: A Novel Lightweight, High Turndown Spacecraft Radiator Using Variable Heat Conductors, Phase I Briefing Chart Image","file":{"fileExtension":"jpg","fileId":291862,"fileName":"SBIR_2017_1_BC_S3.06-9496","fileSize":24922,"objectId":288377,"objectType":{"lkuCodeId":889,"code":"LIBRARY_ITEMS","description":"Library Items","lkuCodeTypeId":182,"lkuCodeType":{"codeType":"OBJECT_TYPE","description":"Object Type"}},"objectTypeId":889,"fileSizeString":"24.3 KB"},"files":[{"fileExtension":"jpg","fileId":291862,"fileName":"SBIR_2017_1_BC_S3.06-9496","fileSize":24922,"objectId":288377,"objectType":{"lkuCodeId":889,"code":"LIBRARY_ITEMS","description":"Library Items","lkuCodeTypeId":182,"lkuCodeType":{"codeType":"OBJECT_TYPE","description":"Object Type"}},"objectTypeId":889,"fileSizeString":"24.3 KB"}],"id":288377,"title":"Briefing Chart Image","description":"Variable Conductance Radiator: A Novel Lightweight, High Turndown Spacecraft Radiator Using Variable Heat Conductors, Phase I Briefing Chart Image","libraryItemTypeId":1095,"projectId":93827,"primary":true,"publishedDateString":"","contentType":{"lkuCodeId":1095,"code":"IMAGE","description":"Image","lkuCodeTypeId":341,"lkuCodeType":{"codeType":"LIBRARY_ITEM_TYPE","description":"Library Item Type"}}}],"transitions":[],"primaryImage":{"file":{"fileExtension":"jpg","fileId":291862,"fileSizeString":"0 Byte"},"id":288377,"description":"Variable Conductance Radiator: A Novel Lightweight, High Turndown Spacecraft Radiator Using Variable Heat Conductors, Phase I Briefing Chart Image","projectId":93827,"publishedDateString":""},"responsibleMd":{"acronym":"STMD","canUserEdit":false,"city":"","external":false,"linkCount":0,"organizationId":4875,"organizationName":"Space Technology Mission Directorate","organizationType":"NASA_Mission_Directorate","naorganization":false,"organizationTypePretty":"NASA Mission Directorate"},"program":{"acronym":"SBIR/STTR","active":true,"description":"
The NASA SBIR and STTR programs fund the research, development, and demonstration of innovative technologies that fulfill NASA needs as described in the annual Solicitations and have significant potential for successful commercialization. If you are a small business concern (SBC) with 500 or fewer employees or a non-profit RI such as a university or a research laboratory with ties to an SBC, then NASA encourages you to learn more about the SBIR and STTR programs as a potential source of seed funding for the development of your innovations.
The SBIR and STTR programs have 3 phases:
The SBIR and STTR Phase I contracts last for 6 months with a maximum funding of $125,000, and Phase II contracts last for 24 months with a maximum funding of $750,000 - $1.5 million.
Opportunity for Continued Technology Development Post-Phase II:
The NASA SBIR/STTR Program currently has in place two initiatives for supporting its small business partners past the basic Phase I and Phase II elements of the program that emphasize opportunities for commercialization. Specifically, the NASA SBIR/STTR Program has the Phase II Enhancement (Phase II-E) and Phase II eXpanded (Phase II-X) contract options.
Please review the links below to obtain more information on the SBIR/STTR programs.
Provides an overview of the SBIR and STTR programs as implemented by NASA
Provides access to the annual SBIR/STTR Solicitations containing detailed information on the program eligibility requirements, proposal instructions and research topics and subtopics
Schedule and links for the SBIR/STTR solicitations and selection announcements
Federal and non-Federal sources of assistance for small business
Search our complete archive of awarded project abstracts to learn about what NASA has funded
Still have questions? Visit the program FAQs
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