Numerical and experimental investigation of the thermal behavior of a newly developed attitude Determination Control Unit in a Vacuum environment

Within the framework of satellite programs carried out in Turkish Aerospace Industries, Inc. (TAI), a new Attitude Determination Control Unit (ADCU) has been developed. The present study involves the Thermal Vacuum Cycling Tests (TVCT) performed on the ADCU and the thermal mathematical model developed in order to assess the thermal behavior of the equipment under vacuum environment. For the qualification of the ADCU, 8 cycles of TVCT has been performed in a Thermal Vacuum Chamber (TVC). By demonstrating that the functional performance of the ADCU lies within required limits, it was shown that the ADCU is a space-qualified equipment. In addition to this, a thermal mathematical model representing the ADCU and the thermal test environment are developed using THERMICA software and simulations based on this model are carried out by SINDA/G software. Transient and steady-state predictions obtained with the software are compared with the test measurements and a good agreement was observed. Based on this agreement, it is concluded that the mathematical model employed in the present study produces accurate results for the thermal behavior of the ADCU and it is an efficient tool which can be used in the design phases of future equipment with similar properties.