Radiation, dust and coolant freeze-out mitigation

Spacecraft radiators safeguard the functionality of mission critical equipment by rejecting excess heat into the environment. Exposure to high energy ionizing radiation during space travel and dust during landing on planetary bodies can contaminate/degrade the radiator surface which in turn affects its ability to reject heat. When subjected to extremely cold environments like the polar regions on the moon during lunar night, the radiator may lose heat excessively that can cause the radiator fluids used currently to freeze and fail the radiator. Through this SBIR project, we propose to develop and demonstrate a lightweight, low power, and fast actuating actively controlled louver to protect the radiators against ionizing radiation, dust, and coolant freezeout. Research completed in Phase I has established the feasibility of this technology in providing radiator protection at a level comparable to or better than the state-of-the-art passive louvers while weighing less than half and needing three orders of magnitude less time for activation. In Phase II, we propose to scale up the device to 7 m2, construct the prototype device, and demonstrate its performance under simulated space and lunar surface conditions. The key deliverables of Phase II include the documentation for the prototype louver, final report, and the delivery of prototype device to NASA for additional evaluation.