Development and In-orbit Performance of a Thermal Control System for Nickel-Cadmium Batteries Based on Loop Heat Pipes

In 1995 TAIS Ltd developed and manufactured a Thermal Control System (TCS) for Nickel-Cadmium Batteries (NCB) based on Loop Heat Pipes (LHP). This TCS was ordered for the Chinese meteorological satellite FY-1C by Shanghai Institute of Spacecraft Engineering.

The paper presents results of comparative analysis for some design features of the TCS, thermal vacuum test results, description of TCS layout for the NCB on board the FY-1 C satellite, test results for TSC after its integration into the satellite and flight telemetry data.