Thermal Design of the Radarsat Spacecraft

Radarsat is a Canadian remote sensing satellite designed to gather earth resource data from a low earth orbit. The spacecraft consists of four major entities: the payload module, the bus module, the SAR antenna and the solar arrays. The main features of each subsystem's thermal design are presented, emphasizing the different design challenges encountered in maintaining all components within acceptable limits so that all performance requirements are met. Special reference is given to the difficulties experienced in accommodating the Antarctic coverage.