High Performance Space Radiator Development (kTC P912)

k Technology Corporation (kTC) proposes to develop a high performance satellite radiator material system that satisfies both structural and thermal management requirements. The proposed material system has a honeycomb core with carbon fiber composite encapsulated thermal pyrolytic graphite (TPG) face sheets. The encapsulated TPG face sheets have high conductivity (up to 1300 W/mK), low mass density (2.0 g/cm3), and high stiffness (40.3 Msi).The proposed honeycomb structure using the high performance encapsulated TPG skins will have all the benefits of carbon fiber composite skinned honeycomb structures (high stiffness and low mass) with the addition of extremely high thermal conductivity. Such a material system efficiently satisfies the thermal management and structural requirements of satellite radiator structures. This material system will allow higher payload mass fractions because of the significant weight savings afforded by integrating both the thermal and structural subsystems into one system.