Thermal control of the spacecraft is typically achieved by removing heat from the spacecraft parts that tend to overheat and adding heat to the parts that tend get too cold. The equipment on the spacecraft can get very hot if it is exposed to the sun or have internal heat generat
Selection note: Curated as a foundational spacecraft thermal-control overview of heat removal and addition, external environment, internal dissipation, insulation, radiators, heaters, and system balance.
Evidence boundary: NTRS lists open full text, but this pass reviewed metadata and abstract rather than checking the preprint's equations or currency. It is foundational context, not design authority or claim evidence.
Stable record
ntrs-20010091676
Topic
power-thermal
Type
Preprint (Draft being sent to journal)
Publisher
Goddard Space Flight Center
Authors
Birur, Gajanana C.; Siebes, Georg; Swanson, Theodore D.; Powers, Edward I.
Year
2001
Editorial state
metadata curated editorial draft
Reviewer
GShips Project editorial synthesis
Official link checked
2026-07-25
Source-supplied abstract
Thermal control of the spacecraft is typically achieved by removing heat from the spacecraft parts that tend to overheat and adding heat to the parts that tend get too cold. The equipment on the spacecraft can get very hot if it is exposed to the sun or have internal heat generation. The pans also can get very cold if they are exposed to the cold of deep space. The spacecraft and instruments must be designed to achieve proper thermal balance. The combination of the spacecraft's external thermal environment, its internal heat generation (i.e., waste heat from the operation of electrical equipment), and radiative heat rejection will determine this thermal balance. It should also be noted that this is seldom a static situation, external environmental influences and internal heat generation are normally dynamic variables which change with time. Topics discussed include thermal control system components, spacecraft mission categories, spacecraft thermal requirements, space thermal environments, thermal control hardware, launch and flight operations, advanced technologies for future spacecraft,
Abstract text has not been adopted as a GShips conclusion.
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NTRS lists open full text, but this pass reviewed metadata and abstract rather than checking the preprint's equations or currency. It is foundational context, not design authority or claim evidence.
Source-supplied titles, abstracts, authors, and dates may require correction against the canonical full text.
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People, review, and conflicts
Prepared by
GShips Project
Editorial status
metadata-curated-editorial-draft
Editorial reviewer
GShips Project editorial synthesis
Last editorial review
No editorial-review date recorded
Independent review
pending
Independent reviewer
No independent reviewer assigned
Last independent review
No independent-review date exists
Last content edit
Not recorded separately
Official source or link verified
2026-07-25
Declared conflicts
The maintainer intends to explore a commercial venture based on some GShips work. No entity, outside funding, customer, sponsor, or indexed-organization relationship currently exists.