MCS-A Thermal Control Subsystem

In December 1981 the Maritime Communication Satellite MCS-A, was successfully launched on board ARIANE L04 to become the European Space Agency's first commercial telecommunication satellite. Presented in this paper is the history associated with the formulation, development and testing of the Thermal Control Subsystem designed for MCS-A, as well as a report from the initial evaluation of its in-orbit performance.