​​HEAT TRANSFER IN ROCKETS AND SPACECRAFTS

Submitted By:
Rahul Raju Pogu(2016EE10448)
Rushi Manoj(2016EE10419)
Akhil Mannam(2016EE10478)
Introduction:
​ umans always had interest in space. Every civilization on earth had tried to figure out what’s
H
out there in space. Even now space research is one of the most important and costliest line of work in science.
Space exploration done by humans can solve the questions such as What is our place in the Universe? What is
the purpose of human existence? What is the history of universe? How did we come into existence? Are there
aliens? etc .While trying to answer these questions we were able to improve our technology, create new
industries and work with other nations cooperatively to get better results. Because of space technology ,many
other technologies came into existence like weather forecasting, Mineral sensing, remote sensing ,satellite
television, GPS systems, and long distance communication. Space exploration starts once we are 60 miles
away from our planet where there is not enough air which can neither help us breathe nor can scatter any
light for us to see. Any vehicle designed for flying in space can be called as spacecraft. It always puzzles
anyone who think of going there because of the challenges that may be faced.The inventor of Rocket, Robert
Goddard was ridiculed by many saying that rockets are impossible. Now a days launching a rocket is seen as a
milestone for a nation. The first and foremost thoughts will be of surviving, which was addressed by
space-suits and how to reach there, which was addressed by spacecrafts.
But, what will be function of a spacecraft? First sure thing to overcome the earth’s enormous
gravitational pull for which a rocket is built which is destined to be seperated in stages and finally turn to
spacecraft to rome around in space. Second, what will it do while roaming around? And the problem of such a
mission is the drastic changes of exposures to sun’s radiation directly which arises temperature differences
across a spacecraft as well as across the space it is moving which makes the heat transfer in the vehicle
important.Out of all the vehicles invented by man, spacecrafts have the most important need for considering
Heat transfer while designing them .vehicles on land,water and air are not subjected to temperatures as high
as a spacecraft.Easily the cost of building of a spacecraft is far higher than a normal vehicle.So, choosing the
correct fuel,material to withstand high temperatures is highly important.If even if a small equipment fails in a
spacecraft ,it may fail.Then the loss would be devastating.It has actually happened before because of some
parts contracting ,improper thermal control spacecrafts have malfunctioned.The loss wouldn’t just be huge
money but also people’s lives.So,proper thermal control is a must for a spacecraft.
There are many kinds of spacecrafts. Spacecrafts made for different purposes.Spacecrafts are
categorized into Flyby, Orbiter, Atmospheric, Lander, Rover, Penetrator, Observatory, Communications. There
are some general heat transfer processes common to all these spacecrafts.Some heat transfer process specific
to each spacecraft. We would like to first discuss the common heat transfer processes then look individually
into the different kind of spacecrafts. We are not just looking at the heat transfer process inside a Spacecraft
but also look into its surroundings while they are travelling.For suppose Rockets during their Launch release
huge amounts of heat,without proper launching pad and a way to absorb that heat , It will be problematic to
deal with negative effects after launching a Rocket. Rocket propulsion is one of the common process in all the
spacecrafts. So,understanding heat transfer implications in it is very important. So,we will first start with it
because rocket propulsion is what makes journey into the space possible.

Rockets:
"For every action there is an equal and opposite reaction" is the famous Newton’s third law of
motion. A rocket works on this principle.Its the main idea. Propellants are made to chemically react with one
another in combustion chamber .Then they form a hot gas product. These hot gases are accelerated to
achieve very high velocities. These high velocity gases are then ejected outside through a nozzle. This imparts
momentum to the rocket engine. We define the term thrust force on the motor as the reaction to ejection of
the high velocity gases (sometimes solid is also ejected).Most rocket engines use combustion for propelling,
but non-combusting forms(cold gas thrusters) also exist.Rocket engines work fine in vacuum because it needs
no external material to form the jet. Initially people assumed rocket can’t perform in vacuum because they
thought the reaction thrust is exerted from outside material.And vacuum does not have any material. But the
thrust is exerted by ejected gases or solids. The first successful rocket engine was invented by Robert
H.Goddard in March 16,1924.It was a liquid propellant rocket i.e, propellant is a liquid.The propellants he
used are gasoline and liquid O​2​.A simple rocket(liquid propellant) propulsion system looks like in fig (1).

fig(1)
The propollents in the fuel tank and Oxidizer tank are collected by the pump.The burning of the propellants
takes place in the combustion chamber at high pressure. Since the pressure and temperature generated are
very high from the process of combustion ,the chamber should be strong enough to withstand it. The
chamber and nozzle are usually cooled due to the heat transfer and high temperature. The combustion
chamber also must be sufficiently long to ensure complete combustion happens before the gases enter the
nozzle. So,in the combustion chamber the propellants should be retained for a sufficient time(combustion
residence time) ,so that complete mixing and complete combustion happens..It is a function with many
variables. The volume of combustion chamber required is a function of the mass flow rate of the propellants,
the average density of the products of the combustion and combustion residence time. The design of shape of
the combustion chamber and material used for it depends on a number of factors like the propellant used,
mixture ratio, injector design and nozzle.The thermo-chemical energy released in the combustion chamber is
converted into the kinetic energy in the nozzle. The nozzle converts the slow velocity, high temperature, high
pressure gas in the combustion chamber into high velocity gas of lower temperature and pressure. Since
thrust is just the product of velocity and mass, a very high gas velocity will ensure that there is a high thrust
which is recommended. The nozzle is generally made such that either its long enough or the exit area is very
big such that the pressure inside the combustion chamber is reduced at the exit of nozzle to the pressure
available outside the nozzle. We are doing this to get maximum thrust. The condition for that P​a​ = P​e​ where P​a
is the ambient outside pressure ,P​e​ is the exit pressure of nozzle. The shape of nozzle determines exit
pressure, earlier conical nozzle were used .These days for higher performance bell nozzle is used.

The injector basically injects the propellants into the combustion chamber (hence its name ).The
propellants are mixed in the right ratio and under right conditions to yield an efficient, stable process of
combustion.Injector is definitely the most important part inside the rocket engine. It has the greatest impact
on the performance of engine. The injector is placed at the top off the combustion chamber.One of the task it
performs is closing off the combustion chamber against the high temperature and high pressure it holds. The
injector is similar to the car’s carburetor .What a carburetor does is basically mix the air and fuel in the proper
ratio for combustion to take place in internal combustion engine of a car. However,, the injector carries out
many other tasks corresponding to the cooling and combustion process .So injector of a rocket engine is more
important compared to carburetor for a car engine. Depending on the application ,injectors with combustion
efficiency as small as 93% are also deemed agreeable.For a combustion process, combustion efficiency gives
how good are the fuels being burned.It tells us how much heat losses are there in the combustion reaction
.Recently however well designed injectors are able to achieve as close to 100% theoretically possible.For it to
be achievable the mix ratio should be of uniform distribution and liquid propellants should be finely
atomized.For a satisfactory design of injector ,looking at the combustion stability is also very important.What
happens is under certain conditions, due to local disturbances in the chamber ,shock waves and detonation
waves are generated .The reason for this may be due to turbulences or error in mixing or propellant flow.
So,shock waves may trigger oscillatory response which are further amplified and also maintained by the
combustion process. So this introduces the instability producing high amounts of heat flux and vibrations that
can be very destructive. A major focus should be on maintaining a stable combustion.
One way to categorize rocket engines with liquid bipropellant fuels is based on their power cycles.
Power cycles are thermodynamic cycles in which it takes input heat power and gives output mechanical
power. Some of the common power cycles used in rocket engine are given below.

Gas generator cycle:

​This is an open cycle meaning a part of propellant is thrown away.There is a chamber called gas
generator and here some part of the propellants are collected and burned. This results in a hot gas. This will
be used to power source for pumps of the engine.So, to give power to these pumps hot gases must first pass
through a turbine. Then pumps will send the propellants into the combustion chamber. The hot gases are
either discarded by sending it outside of the rocket or to the lowest section of nozzle so that it will also
provide some thrust. So to increase the speed with which turbine rotates increase the propellants flow into
the gas generator. Increasing the turbine speed will increase the propellants flow into the combustion
chamber thereby increasing the thrust.The gas generator cycle is used for medium range power applications
,since the gas generator flow is less efficient.In most of the rocket engines ,cooling of the nozzle and
combustion chamber is required.Because it increases the efficiency . Also since there is a cooling higher
temperature of engine can also be allowed. Generally we use some of the fuels in gas generator cycle for the
cooling. As most propellants are good coolants.

Stage Combustion cycle:

​This is sometimes also called preburner or Topping cycle.This has a chamber called preburner similar
to the gas generator cycle. But the propellants are passed multiple times so that combustion happens
efficiently and propellants react at the optimal mix ratio.Unlike the gas generator cycle it is a closed cycle. The
preburner turns on by taking small amount of one fuel and large amount of the other.Then it burns the
mixture resulting in an oxidizer rich gas or fuel rich gas.This mostly contains unburned fuel in vapour form .
This hot gas is burned again with the remaining propellants in the main combustion chamber. This is highly
efficient and is used for high power applications.​ ​But the difficult part is its engineering complexity.

Expander cycle:
​This cycle has no extra chamber called pre-burner. Here the heat is supplied from the cooling jacket. It
is in the main combustion chamber. This heat will be used to convert fuel into vapour form. Cooling jacket are
a special cooling passage around thrust chamber ,it absorbs heat from the hot gases released from
combustion reaction.So this hot gas will used to run the turbine. This injects the fuels into the main
combustion chamber where burning of the oxidizer fuel takes place. Here also the propellants are used
efficiently like in the staged combustion cycle and typically no flow is dumped outside. This cycle is used for
fuels like hydrogen and methane with a low boiling point and can be vapourized easily.There are different
types of expander cycles like open ,bleed etc expander cycles. The main difference is they use only some part
of the fuel in their cycles.Some of the advantages of the expander cycle are no preburner, good specific
impulse and a low engine weight. This is done so as to increase the turbine pressure ratio and power output
by dumping turbine exhaust to ambient pressure outside.
Engine cooling:
The heat released in the combustion process is in the ejected gases.Much of the heat is rejected outside
because most heat is in ejected gases and its thrown outside.But still some of the heat is passed to the
chamber walls of the nozzle,combustion chamber .This heat is still large and should be accounted for .One
way to way differentiate a design of the nozzle from one another is based on its cooling system like how
cooling passages are arranged or cooling method of the hot gas. The pressure of coolant can get as large as
500 atms.The high heat transfer rates (up to 17 KJ/cm​2​ - s) and the high combustion temperatures( 2600 to
3500 K) generated in a combustion chamber poses a difficult challenging task for the designer. Many cooling
techniques have been designed. It depends on lot of factors which method to use for a given thrust chamber.
Frequently a combination of cooling methods are used together. Some of them are the material of the
combustion chamber, combustion chamber configuration,, chamber pressure, available coolant pressure and
the material of the combustion chamber and type of propellant.

Regenerative cooling:
It​ ​is the most known and often used technique for cooling down a bipropellant chambers of medium to large
thrust capacity. In this method ,convection is used to cool the liner for the hot gas. For doing this pass a high
speed coolant outside the back of the hot gas chamber wall.This is heat transfer by forced convection. This
coolant is heated now as it absorbs the heat from the hot gas wall. As previously said mostly fuels themselves
are used as coolants ,So use this heated coolant as fuel by injecting it into the injector. Most of the fuel and
sometimes the oxidizers are generally good coolants. The heat transfer flow into the chamber walls is very
large; 2-21 MW/m​2​ is kind of common. The amount of heat that a coolant can absorb or allow to flow is
governed by large number of factors which include the the heat transfer coefficient, the velocity of the gas
flow in the chamber or the nozzle the thermal conductivity of the chamber wall,the velocity in the coolant
channels, and temperature difference between the chamber and the coolant. The boundary layer for fluids is
defined as the fluid layer, where very close to it where viscosity effects are appreciable . Formation of two
boundary layers is seen. One boundary layer is formed in the chamber containing hot gas and the other
boundary layer is formed in the channels containing the coolant. Since gases are relatively poor conductors
much of the difference in temperature occurs in the boundary layer in the gas chamber. However this layer
can be damaged by the combustion instabilities which will lead to wall failure. What are Combustion
instabilities ? They are thermodynamic and mechanical phenomena happening in the reacting gases flow
.Here evern small vibrations can get amplified and grow into large vibrations which can affect the chamber the
gases are in and also the flow of gases . In the combustion chamber occurs different instabilities occur like
exhaust-system interactions, acoustic instabilities, feed-system interactions, shock instabilities, fluid-dynamic
instabilities,hydrodynamics instabilities, chemical-kinetic instabilities, diffusive-thermal instabilities, etc ,. The
boundary layer can also be destroyed if the cooling propellant is at its sub critical pressure .also the film
should be boiling.An insulating layer is formed by the gas then. Because of this the wall’s temperature
increases very rapidly and soon the wall may fail .The formation of film can be prevented by engaging the
coolant in nucleate boiling.Nucleate boiling is a phenomenon in which small vapour bubbles form at the hot
wall surface.Then these small, nuclei - like bubbles cause local turbulence and break away from the wall. Then
these pop up in the coolant . But for this to happen the whot gas wall temperature should exceed the liquid’s
Boiling point by 15 to 45 K . If there is no film formation the maximum heat flow can be tripled as gas bubbles
formed rapidly collapse and disrupts the coolant boundary layer. Generally regenerative cooling is used
together with radiation cooling, film cooling, curtain cooling transpiration cooling etc.

Dump cooling:
This is very similar to regenerative cooling. As here also the coolant is passed through small passages
outside the back of the thrust chamber wall. As the name suggests the after cooling the cooling thrust
chamber it is dumped outside. This method is not used because of the performance loss resulting from
ejecting the coolant outside or(overboard).

Film cooling
This gives protection from excessive heat by introducing a thin film of cooled propellant. This is
used to reduce convective heat transfer to a surface.This method is generally used in large heat amount , heat
flow regions and together with regenerative cooling.

Radiation cooling:
​In this process heat is lost by body through radiation it emits​. ​The outer surface of the combustion
chamber or thrust chamber wall emits the heat .But the heat emitted is somewhat low .hence this method is
used in only small thrust chambers where the wall temperature are really high and where heat flux is very
low like thrust chamber extension.
​Now let’s look at the commonly used Liquid propellants. Generally three liquid bipropellant
combinations are used.1- the cryogenic oxygen -hydrogen propellant system 2- liquid oxygen - hydrocarbon
propellant combination 3- not a single bipropellant combination but several propellant combinations which
have different temperatures and are storable used in large rocket engines of ballistic missiles. For high
performance of rocket engines, high energy of chemical content per unit of fuel mixture is recommended
because this will result in high combustion chamber temperatures. Also low molecular weight for the gaseous
combustion products is desirable. High thermal conductivity,High specific heat,high boiling or decomposition
temperature and low freezing temperature are all desirable properties for propellants useful for cooling a
thrust chamber.

Heat transfer :
Heat transfer rates in rocket thrust chambers are affected by Injectors. Low transfer rates of heat
had been observed when injecting patterns result in calculated rich mixtures near the walls of combustion
chamber and nozzle throat region or when chamber pressures are low. Commonly, highly performing injector
have larger transfer of heat rates to the nozzle, the injector face and the walls of the combustion chamber.
Heat is transmitted to all internal hardware surfaces exposed to the hot gases, namely the injector face,
internal chamber and nozzle walls. Heat transfer rates or heat transfer intensities (i.e., heat transfer per unit
local wall area) vary within the thrust chamber. In well-designed chambers, only between 1 and 6% of the
total energy generated by the gas is given to the chamber walls. For a normal rocket of 44,800 N thrust the
rejection of heat rate to the wall may be between 0.8 and 3.6 MW, depending on given operating
configuration and conditions.
 Typical distribution of heat transfer rate for thrust chambers with liquid propellants . The lowest value
always occurs at or near the exit of the nozzle and the peak value always occurs at the throat of the nozzle .
Conduction Heat transfer rate from chamber gases to walls in thrust chambers of rocket ar generally
neglected. The largest quantity of the heat is transferred by convection means along with some appreciable
percentage of radiation (usually 6 to 36%).As thrust levels rise, for constant chamber pressures, the surface
area of chamber wall increases less rapidly than chamber volume. Thus, chamber cooling is normally easier in
the bigger thrust sizes, and the coolants or the wall material capacity to take heat is often more important in
smaller sizes because of such relationship between surface and volume. High pressures in thrust chamber will
mean higher performance of vehicle because of more thrust. However, resulting increases of transfer of heat
with pressure inside the chamber often force material or design limits on maximum pressures inside the
chamber for both solid and liquid propellant rocket propulsion systems. Transfer of heat intensities can
change from values near to 60 W/cm2 to higher than 15 kW/cm2 in chemical rockets. The higher value are
generated at the throat region of nozzle in high chamber thrust chambers which use either liquid propellants
or solid propellants . Nozzle exit sections ,gas generators and small thrust chambers with low pressures are
represented by the lower values.
Heat Transfer analysis of rocket engine is always done and also tested to give us confidence that heat
transfer is handled acceptably under all emergency and operating situations. Often failures which lead to
explosive blasts are due to Heat transfer imbalances. So, Heat transfer calculations are useful in investigation
of failure in rocket engines.To apply steady state Heat transfer relationships ,the process should be in thermal
equilibrium.Then analysis can be done by few basic equations for conduction ,convection and radiation. In
rocket combustion chambers to achieve thermal equilibrium some type of cooling should be applied to outer
walls of chambers like regenerative ,radiative cooling etc.But always steady state conditions are not possible
.Some parts should be analysed by transient heat analysis. Transient heat analysis can be applied during start
of reaction when thrust is starting(rocket just starting ) and at end of complete reaction when thrust is ending
or when rocket no longer goes up,but also for cooling techniques that never reach equilibrium, like in heat
sinks . Complicated computer programs for heat transfer analysis are generally used . They generally employ
a method called finite element analysis (FEA).
Let’s look at steady state Heat transfer cases. The rocket wall chamber is considered as multiple
conductors in series and calculate the net conductivity.There are just three conductors actually ,one is wall
itself and two are gas film on inner side of wall and coolant film on the outer side. So,the problem is just a
steady state problem with a large temperature difference across these 3 conductors. Sometimes there is no
coolant film because it may use radiative cooling. Altogether convection should be considered in the gas and
coolant films along with conduction through wall chamber.
 ​
​Temperature distribution across a wall chamber in rocket thrust chamber which has a coolant.

The general steady state convection heat transfer relations are

T g −T l k
q = h(T​g​-T​l​) , q = 1 tw 1 ,​q = h​g​(T​g -​ T​wg​), q =​ tw (T​wg​ - T​wl​) , q = h​l​(T​wl​ -T​l​)
+ +
hg k hl
Where T​g​ the absolute chamber gas temperature,q is the heat transferred per unit area per unit time,T​wl​ the
absolute wall temperature with coolant film on the wall, T​l​ the absolute coolant temperature, T​wg​ the
absolute wall temperature with gas film on the wall, h​l the
​ coolant liquid film coefficient,h​g​ the gas film
coefficient,k the conductivity of the wall material and t​w​ the thickness of the chamber wall . These equations
are assuming that heat flow is radial only.One of the assumptions we also make is that these thermal
conductivity and gas film and liquid coefficients are some constants(average of its values in the temperature
range) and are not a function of pressure and temperature . But the equations give are for just a one
dimensional model. A 2 or 3 dimensional finite element model would have to consider heat transfer in all
directions i.e, axial directions too we assumed only radial till now ,axial heat flow should be considered at the
throat of nozzle where heat flow will be downstream and upstream of it. Because gas and liquid coolant
temperatures, film coefficients,surface areas and wall thicknesses generally change with the axial distance L
within a combustion chamber (Axial heat transfer symmetry assumption). Now to calculate the total heat u
need to integrate the q heat per unit area over entire circular area A of the thrust chamber.
Q = ∫ q dA = π ∫ DqdL

L is the chamber length and taken zero at the injector face . D is the diameter of the thrust chamber. This
integration is usually carried out by partitioning the thrust chamber into infinitesimal smaller lengths. The
main quantities which control the heat transfer across wall chamber are gaseous and liquid films which are
formed due to coolant flow and products of the combustion reactions. Heat transfer rate is mostly
determined by the gas film coefficients and wall temperatures are largely determined by the liquid films. But
determining these film coefficients is a very difficult task because of the inherent complex geometries, non
uniform velocities, surface roughness, boundary layer behaviour etc. Formulations of convection heat transfer
in turbulent flows are largely empirical ,and one prefered relation for the heating inside circular tubes is

hg D Dvρ 0.8 μcp 0.4

κ = 0.023( μ ) ( κ )

Where D is the chamber’s diameter, h​g​ is the gas film coefficient,k the conductivity of gas, v the calculated
average local gas velocity, ρ the gas density, μ the absolute gas viscosity, and c​p​ the specific heat of the gas at
Dvρ μcp hg D
constant pressure. is the Reynolds number, κ i​s the Prandtl Number (Pr) and κ ​is known as the
μ
Nusselt number,. This is a conventional formula assuming fully formed velocity profiles and heat flows into the
tube from all directions.However that’s not true and when chamber length is relatively short equilibrium flow
profiles may not form. So The above equation must be modified somewhat. Temperature drops across inner
walls along with the highest temperature are decreased when the wall is slim and created out of high
thermal-conductivity substance. Surface roughness also has large consequences for film coefficients and
which means on heat flow too . Now we can look at transient heat transfer across a metal thrust chamber
where thermodynamic equilibrium is not reached. Basically walls which are not cooled are heat sinks and
continuously suck up energy from combustion gases. The heat conduction equation can be used for heat
balance across any wall section for the one dimensional and unsteady case.
∂ ∂T ∂T
∂x (κ ∂x ) =− ρ c ∂t
ρ is the wall material density and c is the average specific heat ,k is the conductivity of the wall material.
Using these formulas ,calculating for a three dimensional case can be done using computer analysis. That
pretty much sums up the heat transfer analysis in a rocket. Although we discussed for a liquid bipropellant
thermal rocket and there are many other types of rocket engines with solid propellants ,electric rockets ,
nuclear rockets etc ,the heat transfer process are mostly same like conduction,convection,radiation,
combustion reactions etc.

Spacecrafts:
Spacecrafts are the children of rockets . Rockets carry them and place them carefully in the place they
are required to carry out the job. Let’s look at how they are made for the purpose that they are going to hold.
Elements of Spacecraft are:
➢ Structure and Mission Design
➢ Power:​ Here is where the sun of the spacecraft lies. It generates, regulates, stores and distributes the
electrical power to all the equipments in mission modes. Provides grounding and fusing to all the
elements. Switch all equipments on and off by the commands of CDS.
➢ Thermal Control: ​Maintain the temperature of all aircraft equipments within the limits for all mission
modes.
➢ Propulsion: ​ As the spacecraft has to rotate in an orbit, it is needed to reach the orbital constraints
such as transitional velocity which is provided by this. It also controls thrust duration, direction and
magnitude. Provides vehicle rotation about all axes at the command of the attitude control system.
➢ Command and Data(CDS):​ It receives instructions from communications system. Decodes, stores,
distributes and initiates all the commands it received. Then, collects, processes, formats, stores and
delivers data to the communications system.
➢ Attitude Control:​ It determines vehicle attitude and corrects it to desired attitude. Also controls and
implements the commanded changes in the velocity and attitude.
➢ Telecom:​ Spacecraft is not alone after it reaches its destination, we continuously communicate with it
through this subsystem which uplinks the commands to the CDS. Transmits payload and engineering
data to us. Receives and re-transmits signals for navigation and tracking.

Among these there is a system which costs just 2-5% of the total spacecraft and also occupy the same
amount of space in it, yet, most important for the survival of the spacecraft which is the thermal control. The
thermal control techniques can be broadly classified into two categories, namely, ​active​ and ​passive​.

Passive control​ includes the use of special coatings, sunshades and cooling fins, heat pipes,insulating
blankets etc.
● Second-surface mirrors with the silver painted on the back to reflect visible light acts as sun shields.
● Spacecraft receives ultraviolet radiation from sun and can experience damage from small space
particles. These can be avoided if insulating blankets are used. They also protect against atomic oxygen
erosion.
 ● In a spacecraft, some areas need to dissipate high amounts of heat or low amounts of heat at low
temperature which requires a large cooling surface. Here is where fins are used to control the heat
transfer as per requirement.
● Heat pipes are tubular devices containing a wick running the length of the pipe, which is filled with
ammonia which is a fluid. The pipe is connects those portions of the spacecraft from which heat is to
be removed where the fluid evaporates and a portion to which it is to be dumped where the vapour is
to condense(by releasing its heat of vaporization). We need to bring the condensed fluid back which is
done by capillary action. It seems that heat pipes doesn’t belong to the passive category as there is
active flow of fluid, but, in the viewpoint of design there is neither control over the heatpipe required
nor the spacecraft expends energy for the transfer to happen. It simply conducts heat when there is a
temperature difference and ceases to do so when there is no temperature difference. However, care is
taken on the hotside by limiting how hot it can get as it should not melt the wick itself.

Active control​ includes the use of actively pumped fluid loops, heaters controlled by thermostats,
coolers such as mechanical refrigerators, radiators, or alteration of the spacecraft attitude to attain suitable
conditions.
● Heaters usually are wire-wound resistances, or possibly deposited resistance strips. They may be
controlled by ground commands or automatic controllers. There are also very small heaters which do
not require on/off control. Radioisotope heaters are sometimes used.
● Refrigeration cycles that are used on Earth are operated in finite gravity but operating them in zero
gravity is difficult and hence their use is on a very miniature scale(zero use). Thermoelectric cooling has
been used with little success for cooling well-insulated and small objects. The detector elements in
infrared observational instruments which, generally, operate for long periods needs to be cooled
which is the primary application. The Vuilleumier refrigerator suits the requirements. A device that has
been used considerably is the ​cryostat,​ which depends on expansion of a high-pressure gas through a
small hole(orifice) to achieve cooling. To achieve very low temperature, cryostats are used in two
stages employing nitrogen in the first stage and hydrogen in the second stage. The nitrogen, expanded
from high pressure, precools the system to near liquid nitrogen temperature. The hydrogen, expanding
into the precooled system, can then approach liquid hydrogen temperatures, thus cooling the
instrument detectors to very low temperatures. However, it is not necessary thing to use only these
gases, they can be substituted by others depending on the requirement and investment.
● Actively pumped fluid loops, are “​conceptually​” same as the system used for cooling automobile
engines. In this, a pipe containing the fluid is taken along to a heat exchanger in the region to be
heated or cooled. Heat transfer occurs through​ forced convection​ into the fluid. The fluid should be
sent to the place according to whether it should lose heat(sink) or it should to gain heat(source).
Working fluids in generally include water, air, methanol, water/glycol, water/ methanol, carbon
tetrachloride, Freon etc. This type of cooling can be observed in space-shuttle as the payload-bay
doors, while on orbit, are exposed to space and hence contain extensive cooling radiators .

The basic heat transfer mechanisms that we experience on earth are ​conduction,​ ​ convection a​ nd
radiation.​ The same mechanisms occur in spacecrafts too. The primary difference is that, here, on earth, we
experience convection overriding which is non-existent in space. This is why spacecrafts are tested on earth in
vacuum chambers rather than in the atmosphere, hence eliminating the free convection possibility. Still
convection is also vital for spacecrafts as it is encountered on the surface of any planet with an atmosphere,
during atmospheric flight, pumped fluid cooling loops and inside sealed pressurized spacecraft.
CONDUCTION
Conduction occurs in solids, liquids, and gases. It is generally the primary mechanism for heat transfer
within​ a spacecraft. Because all the equipments in the spacecraft generate some heat, some more, some less,
so there is a problem of overheating and hence there should be a mechanism for conducting heat from the
sources to the heat rejecting surfaces. Of course this happens on earth too but here, we have​ free convection
mechanism not letting heat stay over one place and in devices like computers we have ​forced convection
where a fan is used to drive away the heat from the source and thus protecting the device components. As we
know free convection doesn’t exist in space and fans are only used in manned spacecrafts.
Selecting a material for thermal conduction doesn’t simply involve just conductivity, design needs to
take other factors into account as well. Regarding this, we know that electrical conductivity and thermal
conductivity are related closely. Therefore, when we need high thermal conductivity then maintaining
electrical isolation is problematic and challenging. One substance that is helpful is beryllium oxide (BeO),
which has high thermal conductivity but is an excellent electrical insulator.
Fourier’s law of conduction for 1-dimension goes as follows : ​ q = -κ(dT/dx)
Where q is the rate of heat transfer per unit area or energy flux, ​κ ​is the thermal conductivity. Extending this
to 3-dimensions vectorially to isotropic materials can be written as ​ q = -κ∇T​ which may be applied to the
energy flux through an arbitrary control volume; by Gauss's law and the law of conservation of energy we get
the conduction equation as​ ρC∂T/∂t = κ∇​2​T + g(​r,​ t) ​which allows the temperature in a substance to be
calculated as a function of the time t and the position vector​ r​ ​ .​ The source term g(r, t) represents internal
heat generation (power per unit volume). ρ is its density and C is the heat capacity of the substance.

CONVECTION
​This is a fluid dynamic phenomenon, with behavioral dependency on many factors which are difficult
to measure or predict.​ ​In convection, the energy transfer is still through conduction or radiation, but the
conditions defining it are highly varied by mass transport in the fluid. Free convection is driven entirely by
difference in densities and hence occur only in gravitational fields. As in space which is deprived of gravity,
convection is not a question and hence any satellite to be tested cannot be tested in atmosphere because of
convection. This is the primary, but not the only one, reason for conducting thermal vacuum tests for
spacecrafts before launch. For approximating the space conditions this is the only opportunity and through
analysing the behaviour one can verify their results.
If convective heat transfer is needed in zero gravity, it must be forced convection, driven by a pump,
fan, or other circulation mechanism. Convection is important for space applications in waste heat radiators
and regeneratively cooled rocket engines. This is forced convection involving the special case of pipe flow.
When a single phase fluid is ran over a surface which is at a temperature difference(forced
convection), Newton discovered that the heat transfer is proportional to both the temperature difference and
the surface area. According to Newton’s law of cooling the convection heat rate into the wall can be written ​Q
= hc​ A(T
​ ​f​ - TW​ )​ ​ ​where h​C​ is the convection coefficient, A is the area and T​f​ and T​W are
​ fluid and wall temperatures
respectively. In most cases,heat flux is more in convective heat transfer than conductive heat transfer and free
convection is less effective than forced convection.
 Comparison of heat transfer mechanisms

Here, Newton's law of cooling is an approximation. This is a fluid dynamic problem which is of heat
transfer from a moving fluid to a boundary wall, it may be analyzed by making particular approximations
sometimes. In convection analysis, a dimensionless quantity is used called as Nusselt number. It is defined as
the ratio of convective energy transfer to conductive energy transfer under comparable conditions. This
number indicates whether the fluid is flowing(Nu>1) or stationary(Nu=1) and also we can find ‘h’, the heat
transfer coefficient from nusselt number as​ Nu = hL/κ​(in 1-D). For efficient convection Nu will be
high(100-1000). The superiority of forced convection over free convection can also be explained by the
Nusselt number which is higher in the former case.

RADIATION
Radiation is the only mechanism for heat transfer between an object in space and the surrounding
environment. Radiation becomes prominent when the atmospheric entry speeds are above 10 km/s. Even
when the entry speed reaches 11.2 km/s which is the Earth escape velocity, it only accounts for about 25% of
the total heat flux.
Radiative heat transfer is a function of the temperature of the receiving and emitting bodies, the
intervening medium, the surface materials of the bodies and the relative geometry. The intensity, for a point
source, is proportional to 1/ r​2​. Almost any object may be considered as a point source, if the distance is
sufficient, . For example though Sun subtends a significant arc when viewed from earth, it can be taken as a
point source for most requirements in thermal control. A flexible and simple means of ​passive spacecraft
thermal control ​is the ability to modify the emissivity and absorptivity of spacecraft external and internal
surfaces by means of surface treatment, coatings, etc. ​Active​ means of varying the effective total emissivity of
the spacecraft are devices such as the louvers and movable flat-plate shades.
The transport of energy by electromagnetic waves emitted by all bodies at a temperature greater than
0 K may be defined as radiative heat transfer. For our case of thermal control in a spacecraft we intend to
focus on the wavelengths between approx. 200 nm(middle ultraviolet) - 200 μm(far infrared). The
Stefan-Boltzmann law states that the power emitted by a body is directly proportional to fourth power of
temperature i.e., ​Q = εσAT​4​ where ​ε ​is the emissivity, ​A​ is the surface area, ​T​ is the surface temperature
and ​σ ​is the Stefan-Boltzmann constant. Hence, a relatively large area will be required for heat rejection at
low temperature. This may constitute a problem in terms of spacecraft configuration geometry, where we
must simultaneously provide compact launch vehicle stowage, an adequate view factor to space and minimal
weight.
We are primarily interested in computing the exchange of energy flux between the spacecraft, or a
part of the spacecraft, and its surroundings for spacecraft thermal control in radiative heat transfer. For this,
we should have the ability to compute the energy transfer between arbitrarily positioned pairs of surfaces.
The problem is relatively easy to solve, though it is messy, when the various surfaces are black. When they are
not, we require a numerical solution in all but the simplest cases. Fortunately, for basic spacecraft design
calculations a few of these simple cases are of great utility. The types of surfaces used in a spacecraft are
black surfaces ​and​ diffuse surfaces​. ​Black surfaces ​are those surfaces which absorbs and also emits all types
of wavelengths with high intensity. For black surfaces emissivity is one.
For accurately analysing the heat transfer processes of a spacecraft, the construction an analytical
thermal model of the spacecraft is necessary. In the simplest case, this can be seen as a lumped-mass model,
where each each node which represents a thermal mass is connected to other nodes by thermal resistances.
Hence, we should know what are the heat sinks and sources, both internal and external, such as heaters,
electronic packages, radiators and cooling devices. Nodes are usually defined as the major items of tanks,
structure, and electronic units. We must determine the thermal resistance between each pair of thermally
connected nodes. This can be done by analysing and modeling the radiative, conductive and convective links
between the nodes. We can then model the conductivity of various materials and joints, absorptivity and
emissivity. We should obtain a basic understanding of the global spacecraft energy balance. The figure below
indicates a spacecraft in an orbit around earth and the heat sources and sink are shown. By writing the energy
balance equation and solving we can get the surface temperature of the satellite.

It is in this manner, by taking all the constraints of heat transfer into account we can design a satellite
for safe survival in space and use it for our requirements.

Types of spacecrafts :
Spacecraft are designed to work in very harsh conditions. Their complexity and capabilities vary greatly
and their purposes are diverse. The material durability in making a spacecraft matters a lot. It can make a lot
of difference in the design structure. There are various types of spacecrafts depending on their function and
place where they would be deployed in the space. Given below are six types of spacecrafts :

1. Flyby spacecraft
2. Atmospheric spacecraft
3. Orbiter spacecraft
4. Penetrator spacecraft
5. Lander spacecraft
6. Rover spacecraft
Flyby Spacecraft
The research or survey phase of solar system exploration was initially conducted by flyby spacecraft.
They never fall into the gravitational attraction of planetary orbit and would mostly stay in the solar orbit.
They must have the capability of using their instruments to observe targets they pass. When the antennas are
far away for the nearest point to Earth,they should be able to store the data in the computers which are
onboard and must continuously update the data to the control centre on Earth. Since these type of
spacecrafts are made for exploration of space, their duration to survive should be long enough.

Orbiter Spacecraft
These type of spacecrafts are designed to travel to a far-away planet and get into the orbit with proper
amount of deceleration at the exact moment. The design of these spacecrafts should be taken extreme care
since they are far away from the planet. Planet may shadow out the spacecraft leading to loss of electrical
power and subjecting the vehicle to extreme thermal variation which also means there are no uplink and
downlink communications with Earth. Orbiter spacecraft are carrying out the second phase of solar system
exploration, following up the research with in-depth study of each of the planets initially conducted.

Atmospheric Spacecraft
These spacecrafts are designed for a mission of short duration which intends to collect data of
atmosphere of another planet. One typically has a limited complement of spacecraft subsystems. Considering
an example, an atmospheric spacecraft does not have the need of propulsion subsystems or attitude and
articulation control system subsystems at all. Electric power supply is necessary and essential for this type of
spacecrafts, which may simply be batteries, and telecommunications equipment for tracking and data relay.
Its scientific instruments may take direct measurements of an atmosphere's composition, temperature,
pressure, density, cloud content and lightning.
Typically, atmospheric spacecraft are dependent on another spacecraft to carry them to their destination.

Lander Spacecraft
These type of spacecrafts are designed to travel to a far-away planet and have to stay long enough to
downlink data back to the Earth. A system of actively-cooled, long-lived Venus landers designed for
seismology investigations, is being envisioned for a possible future mission.

Penetrator Spacecraft
These spacecrafts have been designed for entering the surface of a body, such as a comet, surviving
large amount of gravitational force, measuring, and telemetering the properties of the penetrated surface.
Penetrator data would typically be telemetered to an orbiter craft for re-transmission to Earth.

Rover Spacecraft
Rover spacecrafts are electrically-powered spacecrafts are designed and launched essentially to
explore Mars.Rover craft need to be semi-autonomous. While they are steerable from Earth, the delay
inherent to radio communications between Earth and Mars means they must be able to make at least some
decisions on their own as they move.

Temperature requirements and current technologies:

While designing a thermal control system, some of the main factors you should consider are the
temperature requirements of the equipment and instruments on board. The TCS’s primary goal is to control
the temperature such that all instruments are working in their optimal temperature range. Generally most of
the instruments on spacecraft have a fixed working range of temperature. Eg: Batteries (-5 to 20 0​​ C),
propulsion components( 5 to 40​0​C),Solar arrays(-150 to 100​0​C),cameras(-30 to 40​0​C), Infrared spectrometers
(-40 to 60​0​C).So, if you want a space mission to succeed keeping these instruments in their optimal working
temperatures is very important.
There are different types of technologies used in Thermal control systems like Coating,Multilayer
insulation (MLI),Louvers,Heaters ,heat pipes etc. Recently advanced technologies also are used. Coating is
easiest of all technologies. It is also very less expensive. A coating is just a complicated chemical paint applied
to a surface .Its purpose is to increase or decrease heat transfer through that surfaces. Choosing the chemical
depends on lot factors like reflectivity, transparency, emissivity, and absorptivity. However the main problem
with this is that coating doesn’t work the same at all temperatures. Often it is destroyed depending on the
environment’s temperature(if its very high) it is in.
The most used passive thermal control element is multilayer insulation. MLI blankets are one of the
most important parts in a thermal control system.Unlike normal coating, it is more resistant to environment’s
temperature changes. As the name insulation suggests it protects from overheating from the environment
and heat losses to the environment. MLI is done on a number of spacecraft components like batteries,
propellant tanks,solid rocket motors and propellant lines to maintain a proper working temperature. MLI
consists of three layers -1.outer cover layer 2.an inner cover layer 3.interior layer. The outer cover layer
should not absorb sunlight from sun and get heated ,also it should not decompose to outside environment.
Generally outer layers are made of materials like FEP Teflon, PTFE Teflon, Nomex reinforced PVF etc. The
interior layer should have low emissivity. Generally used material aluminized Mylar .Another thing to note is
that interior layer are often thinner than outer layer because to reduce weight .also inner layer is perforated
to aid trapped air to go outside during launch . The innermost layer is obviously exposed to the hardware of
spacecraft. Its function is to protect the thin interior layer. These are not aluminized to prevent electric
failures. Some of the materials used are Nomex Netting and Dacron. Mylar is flammable. That’s why its not
used.
Now that we have seen a passive thermal control element let’s look at an active thermal element
called louvers. They are also used as external radiators and control heat exchange between internal surfaces
of a spacecraft. They may also be used spacecraft outer walls. In it’s closed state , no power is required to use
it. But in this state heat rejection is lower than 6 times compared to it’s open state,when it fully turned on.
The most common louver is venetian blind louver. The five main elements of a louver radiator are
1.structural elements
2.baseplate
3.sensing elements
4.blades
5.actuators.
Heaters are used in cooler environments . Also to give up the heat that is not ejected. Generally a
heater is used together with thermostat or solid state controller. Over wall its job is to maintain an instrument
at its optimal working temperature. Different types of heaters like patch heater,cartridge heater,radioisotope
heater are used .
Radiators are present on spacecraft to dissipate excess heat in the form of radiation. Different
radiators are there like 1. Flat plate radiators 2.spacecraft structurals panels 3.panels deployed out after the
spacecraft is on an orbit. All the emitted heat is by infrared radiation from their surfaces. Of course the
emitted radiation energy depends on surface temperature and surface material’s emissivity. The radiator
should reject waste heat from spacecraft as well as environment’s radiant load. Most radiators depending on
the conditions emit 100 to 350 W per m​2​ of electronics instrument. Radiators weight generally is negligible.
For a Internal space station ,the radiators can be clearly seen as array of square panels outside. Heat pipes are
used to transport large quantities of heat from one place to another without electrical power. It is a closed
loop cycle with evaporator and condenser. Generally uses liquid for heat transfer.
​FUTURE OF SPACE TRAVEL AND ROCKETS: 

It is amazing to even think about the possibilities of what we can achieve in the field of space science,
this is where science fiction rules the entertainment industry. But, is science fiction really a fiction which is
impossible for us, the most intelligent beings on earth to give it a form of reality? Recent developments in
space engines that are taking place answers this question. We often dream of travelling and exploring other
planets, solar systems or even galaxies, though unable to realize the complexity of engineering such a vehicle
and the conditions we face in such an adventurous journey. We have puzzled ourselves on why when a rocket
is ejected it separates into different stages and the parts lost in deep seas, after placing the satellite in the
desired position, are never recovered. We wondered will there be a mode of transportation on our home
planet itself which includes rockets, spacecrafts and what not.
We witnessed some of the amazing things happen in the recent times. Some of them being the stages
of a rocket coming back to earth and landing without any damage makes it useful for reuse, landing a satellite
back on earth. Many advancements are currently taking place with an aim to colonize Mars, our neighbouring
planet. Any developments in this aspect that we look forward will have to be based on that planet’s
atmosphere which is cumulatively equal to 10 km of atmosphere we have here on earth and sun’s radiation
cuts down to half. So, the heat transfer mechanisms vary a lot compared to our home planet.
Since the advent of spaceX, public’s interest in space technology has spiked again. spaceX company is
trying make rockets ,spacecrafts at cheaper prices. It is using cutting edge technology to do that. Of course,
there were many launching,landing etc failures by spaceX. But it has now produced largest working rocket
present. Its founder(Elon Musk) goal is to land humans on Mars. He has the vision to make space exploration
possible. They are also working on making a rocket transportation system for humans to travel from one point
of the earth to half of the world in just 40 min. In all these ,human safety is very important. The number one
danger to that is high temperature gases ,heat transfer imbalances. So the future of space travel is very bright
and many bright individuals are working together to make that possible. To be a part of that group knowing
heat transfer mechanisms related to it is very important.

References:
1.Rocket propulsion elements - 9th edition - George P sutton & Oscar Biblarz
2.​http://www.braeunig.us/space/propuls.htm
3.​https://books.google.co.in/books/about/Elements_of_Spacecraft_Design.html?id=mTSSMhcmVbkC&printse
c=frontcover&source=kp_read_button&redir_esc=y#v=onepage&q&f=false
4.​https://soaneemrana.org/onewebmedia/SPACE%20VEHICLE%20DESIGN%20COVER2.pdf
5.​https://solarsystem.nasa.gov/basics/chapter11-4/
6.​https://www.spacex.com/
7.​https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spacecraft
8.​https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rocket
9.​https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Space_exploration

Contributions:
Rahul Raju Pogu - ​Introduction, Rockets.
Vallamkondu Rushi Manoj - ​Introduction, Active, passive control of spacecrafts, Conduction and Convection
in spacecrafts, future of space travel and rockets
Akhil Mannam - ​ Radiation in spacecrafts, Types of Spacecrafts, Temperature requirements and current
technologies, future of space travel and rockets