Applied Thermal Engineering 75 (2015) 1076e1083

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Applied Thermal Engineering

journal homepage: www.elsevier.com/locate/apthermeng

Research paper

Analytical investigation of a nanosatellite panel surface temperatures

for different altitudes and panel combinations
Murat Bulut a, b, *, Nedim Sozbir a, c
a
Sakarya University Engineering Faculty, Mechanical Engineering Department, Esentepe, Sakarya 54187, Turkey
b
Turksat A.S, Satellite Assembly Integration and Test Directorate, Golbasi, Ankara 06389, Turkey
c
Turksat A.S, R&D and Satellite Design Directorate, Golbasi, Ankara 06389, Turkey

h i g h l i g h t s

Dimensions of 10 cm  10 cm  10 cm and a weight of 1 kg of CubeSat were used.

Initial and detailed thermal analysis were performed.

Initial thermal analysis with different altitude from 500 km to 2000 km was performed.

The surface temperatures of nanosatellite were not affected by the altitude of the nanosatellite.

All electronic equipment and structural part were within allowable temperature range except the batteries.

a r t i c l e i n f o a b s t r a c t

Article history: The thermal control of future nanosatellite will be challenging due to dedicated panel surface area for
Received 9 June 2014 radiation. The thermal control concept is to keep the payload within allowable temperature ranges. In
Accepted 17 October 2014 order to predict the temperature for a nanosatellite in orbit, a basic thermal model of the nanosatellite
Available online 30 October 2014
was designed and analyzed. A thermal control system of the nanosatellite at an altitude 600 km with an
inclination of 98 is presented. A thermal analysis of the nanosatellite was also performed with different
Keywords:
altitudes from 500 km to 2000 km. A thermal control analysis of CubeSat's passive thermal control
Nano-satellites
system was conducted. A temperature distribution of the solutions was computed. All electronic
CubeSat
Satellite design
equipment and structural parts were within allowable temperatures, except the batteries. The batteries
Satellite analysis were out of their allowed range of temperatures in the cold case condition. The results of the study
showed that the panel surface temperature results for different altitudes and panel combination are
highly sensitive by the chosen surface coating of the nanosatellite.
© 2014 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

1. Introduction
Advances in computer technologies and miniaturization of
components allow small satellites, such as the CubeSat, to be used
for scientific research in space. The CubeSat concept was originally
developed in 1999 by Dr. Jordi Puig-Suari from California Poly-
technic State University and Professor Bob Twiggs from the Stan-
ford University [1,2]. CubeSats satellites are cubic pico-class
satellites that measure 10  10  10 cm3 and have mass close to 1 kg
and not to exceed 1.33 kg. Typical power consumption is on the
order of a few watts, and available date rates do not exceed 1 Mbps
[3]. The short development time, small size and low mass of
* Corresponding author. Sakarya University Engineering Faculty, Mechanical
Engineering Department, Esentepe, Sakarya 54187, Turkey. Tel.: þ90 533 418 7825.
E-mail address: murat.bulut1@ogr.sakarya.edu.tr (M. Bulut).
CubeSat satellites allow universities to design, built, test and pro-
cure a launch provider at a reasonable cost in order to place the
satellite in orbit. The reasonable price is between $50,000 and
$200,000. Incentivized by this relatively low cost, many universities
around the world have created new Cubesat programs in the last
few years [3]. Typical payloads include GNSS receivers, CDD cam-
eras, etc. A recent survey of pico- and nanosatellite missions is
given in Ref. [4].
Nanosatellites were developed to facilitate more space-based
experiments by reducing satellite size, mass, cost and develop-
ment time, thereby providing more universities and small entities
with the opportunity to build and fly satellites [5]. A large number
of groups all around the world are currently working on the design
and development of nano-satellites. Especially for students and
universities, a satellite project can only be realized if the total
project cost remains modest. As the cost of a spacecraft is related to
the complexity of the system and the absolute size of the satellite, a

http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.applthermaleng.2014.10.059
1359-4311/© 2014 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
 M. Bulut, N. Sozbir / Applied Thermal Engineering 75 (2015) 1076e1083
very small satellite is the perfect opportunity for these groups to
participate in space engineering and space science. The tendency
towards smaller satellites culminated in the development of highly
integrated compact systems with a mass as low as one kg. Minia-
turization and improved performance of components allow for
much smaller designs, not only in the satellite payloads, but also in
the supporting subsystems. There are a few options for the thermal
control of such small spacecraft that can be explored. The small size
of the spacecraft limits the design freedom of the thermal engineer.
The main reason for this limitation is that a passive thermal control
subsystem is usually implemented as a result of limited mass and
power budgets. However, other limitations also impact the thermal
control subsystem design for such satellites [6e11]. Rotteveel et al.
[6] presented on the specific thermal control issues regarding
nano- and picosatellites. They showed that the nanosatellite of the
Technical University of Delft in particular served as a design
example to point out the specific design issues in thermal control
for nano- and picosatellites. Simulation results and design solutions
were presented. Spacecraft thermal control design using passive
and active hardwares were presented by Bulut et al. [7e9]. They
demonstrated that the thermal control of the satellite was affected
by thermal properties of passive hardwares. Sozbir et al. [10,11]
showed that the common design approach was to use a combina-
tion of passive and active hardwares. They showed that the thermal
control of the satellite was impacted by the location of the elec-
tronic equipments.
The nanosatellite thermal design, analysis and test information
are available in the literature [2,5,12e19] but there is no paper
established in analytical investigation of the nanosatellite panel
surface temperatures for different altitudes and panel combina-
tions. Thermal design, analysis and test have been studied at
various nanosatellites and published in various documents and
journals [12e16]. Tsai used a general thermal mathematical model
for the entire satellite constructed from a combined conduction and
radiation heat transfer equation with environmental heating and
cooling as boundary conditions [13]. Escobar et al. [14] explored the
advantage of using genetic algorithms for the automated design of a
small satellite thermal control. Bulut et al. [15] modeled CubeSat
and the thermal analysis was performed by using ThermXL-
spreadsheet-based thermal analysis tool. Onetto et al. [16]
designed and analyzed the satellite on a Lower Earth Orbit (LEO).
There have been also many senior projects, master dissertations
and PhD thesis which have been published from universities
[2,5,17e19]. Thermal simulation of the CubeSat was performed
using Thermal Desktop and ANSYS Icepak to make sure that the
internal electronics were operating within the various specified
safety limits [2]. Garzon [5] studied the research, development, and
verification of a conceptual model and analytical model of the
thermal controls for the Orbital Satellite for investigating the
response of the ionosphere to stimulation and space weather
(OSIRIS-3U). The spacecraft thermal analysis was performed by
Bauer et al. [17]. They showed that COMSOL is a finite element
method solver. It was chosen due to its ability to import SolidWorks
models and for its extensive thermal modeling capabilities. Czernik
[18] presented thermal design and analysis of Compass-1. Com-
pass-1 is designed for a circular, Sun-synchronous Low Earth Orbit
(LEO) and dimensions 10  10  10 cm3 and a total mass of not
more than 1 kg. Moffitt et al. addressed thermal modeling used
during the design and analysis of the combat sentinel satellite
[12,19].
In recent study was done for thermal design of micro and
nanosatellites on the sun-synchronous orbit of the 500 km of
altitude and was pointing to the Earth [20]. The main purpose was
to keep the temperature within the design temperature range of
components according the combinations of optical properties on
1077
structures and components [20]. Another recent study was done on
micro-variable radiator for spacecraft thermal control. The impacts
of the various factors, including the emission characteristics of gold
film, thickness of polyimide film, structures, and processing tech-
niques, on the thermal performance were experimentally and
theoretically evaluated [21]. Torres et al. [22] presented the details
of proposed architecture and mathematical model. The model is
used to provide novel thermal control architecture to maximize the
available radiation areas by passively selecting the appropriate
radiators.
This paper presents the thermal design and analysis of a nano-
satellite operating Low Earth Orbit (LEO). The nano-satellite is
designed for a circular and near sun synchronous Low Earth Orbit.
Cube satellite is a nanosatellite that has dimensions of
10 cm  10 cm  10 cm and a weight of 1 kg. Based on the mission
of the satellite requirements, a passive thermal control has been
designed. In the satellite, different type of surface coatings are used
to achieve the required thermal control. The goal of this study is to
take suitable measures to ensure all the components will operate in
their safe range of temperatures with a proper rejection.
2. Thermal environments
Thermal control is a process of energy management in which
environmental heating plays a major role. The principal forms of
environmental heating in orbit are direct sunlight (solar), sunlight
reflected off the Earth (albedo), and Earth Infrared (IR) emitted by
Earth [23]. The amount of external heat absorbed directly from
solar energy is a function of an object's material properties and its
orientation with respect to the Sun. The energy balance between
the satellite and space is shown in Fig. 1 [15]. The temperature of
the satellite is the result of a balance between absorbed and
emitted energy of all of these sources.
3. Nano-satellite thermal control
The goal of this paper focus on the thermal design and the re-
sults of an initial and detailed thermal analysis of the nanosatellite
and analytical investigation of the nanosatellite panel surface
temperature for different altitudes and panel combinations. Ther-
mal control system is to guarantee that all the components are
within their allowable temperature limits throughout the satellite
mission. All the components have to work from the beginning to
the end of the lifetime with required performances. The thermal
control can be passive or active, depending on the design approach.
Fig. 1. Energy balance between satellite and space [15].
1078 M. Bulut, N. Sozbir / Applied Thermal Engineering 75 (2015) 1076e1083

A passive control is applied to most of the nano-satellites because of

the simplicity, cost reliability, mass, and power. The thermal design
is a key step to be taken at the beginning of the program, in order to
maintain the temperature of the components within the allowable
temperature range and minimize the mass/power requirements.
The CubeSat temperature is controlled by the selection of the sur-
face property and the insulation selection. The infrared emissivity
and solar absorptivity of the areas around the solar panels are
selected to ensure that the temperatures remain between the
operating limits of the components [24].
The model of the nano-satellite is shown in Fig. 2 [15]. The di-
mensions are 10 cm width, 10 cm length, and 10 cm height. By
design, the satellite structure is composed of a 1.27 mm thick
aluminum (6061T6) plate. The nano-satellite surface is covered
with solar cells and different surface coatings.
The structure of nano-satellite is shown in Fig. 3.
In the model of the nano-satellite, five sides (1, 2, 3, 5, and 6)
were covered with solar cells and coatings (aluminum or black
paint). Solar cells are not attached to one side (side 4). On this side
the communication antenna is mounted. Therefore, it is just
aluminum. The temperature requirements for each subsystem are
Fig. 3. Nano-satellite open panel structure.
shown in Table 1 [25,26].
The printed circuit boards (PCBs) are a major component of the
nanosatellite and contribute significantly to the thermal profile of Table 1
the nanosatellite. There are five printed PCBs, which are presented Operating temperature limits.
in Fig. 4. These are RFCM, EPM-1, EPM-2, DCM-1, and DCM-2. Components Tmin ( C) Tmax ( C) Note
The Geometric Mathematical Model (GMM) nodes of the
Electronics (PCB) 40 þ85
nanosatellite are shown in Fig. 4. Each face of the nanosatellite is LiPo batteries 0 þ45 Charge
modeled by one node for the face and one node for each pair of 20 þ60 Discharge
solar cells (each face has two solar cells). One node for each PCB, Main structure 40 þ85
which are RFCM, DCM-1, DCM-2, EPM-1, EPM-2 and Batteries' PCB, Solar cells 100 þ100
and one node for two batteries. The Radio Frequency Communi-
cation Subsystem (RFCM) is used for amateur radio communica-
tion. The Electrical Power Module (EPM) primary function is to
store the energy collected by the solar cells in the batteries and
provide the bus with the required voltages. The Digital Control
Module (DCM) controls data flow, deals with the different opera-
tional modes, ensures telemetry data formatting and storage, and
telecommands data decoding and management. Lithium-Ion
Polymer batteries may be considered, their major advantage over
Lithium-Ion cells being a higher energy density. The operation
temperature limits of the components are shown in Table 1. The
dissipation of the electronic components for the hot case condition

Fig. 4. Geometric mathematical model (GMM) nodes of nano-satellite.

is as follows: EPM dissipation is 0.3 W; RFCM dissipation is 1.75 W;

DCM dissipation 0.05 W; and cold case dissipation is none.
Table 2 provides approximate solar flux, Earth albedo, and Earth
IR values for the average, hot, and cold cases. A more detailed
description of each source is available in Gilmore's Spacecraft
Thermal Control Handbook [25]. For a circular orbit, the aero-
thermal flux decrease with the altitude from 1300 W/m2 at 150 km
to 7 W/m2 at 350 km. Therefore, this contribution will be neglected.

Table 2
Environmental heat sources: average, hot and cold cases.

Parameter Hot case Cold case

Solar flux 1414 W/m2 1323 W/m2

Earth albedo 494.6 W/m2 (a ¼ 0.35) 330.75 W/m2 (a ¼ 0.25)
Earth IR 260 W/m2 220 W/m2
Internal dissipation Full None
Fig. 2. Nano-satellite model [15].
 M. Bulut, N. Sozbir / Applied Thermal Engineering 75 (2015) 1076e1083 1079

Material properties for covered surfaces are shown in Table 3. A
more detailed material properties is available in Refs. [27,28]. In the
analysis, these covered surfaces are considered as combinations of
the panels.
4. Thermal analysis
The primary task of the thermal control system is to balance the
thermal energy of the satellite to ensure that all of the internal
components remain within their acceptable temperature limits
during the worst hot and cold cases [29].
There are two types of thermal analysis which are a steady-state
thermal analysis and a transient thermal analysis. A steady state
thermal analysis determines the temperature distribution and
other thermal quantities under steady-state loading conditions. A
steady state loading condition is a situation where heat storage
effects varying over a period of time can be ignored. A transient
thermal analysis determines the temperature distribution and
other thermal quantities under conditions that vary over a period of
time. The calculation of the steady-state temperatures uses a basic
energy balance. The equilibrium temperature is obtained from the
condition Qin ¼ Qout. The effects included in the calculation are
internal dissipation (Qid), Solar radiation (QSun), Albedo (Qalbedo),
Earth radiation (QEarthIR) and radiation from the body to space.
The basic goal of thermal analysis is finding the spatial tem-
perature distribution and the temporal temperature evolution. This
goal is achieved by solving the energy balance equation.
The general heat balance equation for node I coupled with nodes
j though n is [25,27].

 dT
MCp i i ¼ Qid þ ðQSun þ Qalbedo þ QEarthIR Þi
dt X X
 Jij Ari ðsTi4  sTjr4 Þ  Kij ðTi  Tjk Þ
j j
In Equation (1), conduction and radiation couplings are pre-
sented as Kij and Jij , respectively. The subsystem specifications that
are needed for solving Eq. (1) are thermophysical of materials (Cp,
k), optical properties of surfaces (a, ε), mass, dimensions, and the
assembly-integration date. In Eq. (1), the solar radiation may be
written
QSun ¼ Ap $as $S
where Ap is the projected area, as is the absorptance of external
surfaces, and S is the solar constant.
Albedo is given as follows,


Qalbedo ¼ Ap $Fsatearth $as $fa $S$cos q
For steady state thermal analysis in Eq. (1), dTi/dt is 0. For
transient thermal analysis in Eq. (1), dTi/dt is not 0.
For most satellites, the thermal environment and the external
heat loads are determined by the specific orbit for the mission, the
orientation of the satellite, the surface properties, and the size of
the system. From these, the absolute worst hot and cold case con-
ditions are determined [29]. At any given time the CubeSat has at
most three faces facing the sun, while the other faces are in the
shadow facing and absorbing the Earth's albedo [2].
During the hot case condition, the nano-satellite is in sunlight. It
means that the satellite receives the maximum environmental flux
(solar, albedo, and Earth IR), orbit illumination, and electrical po-
wer, mostly dissipated into heat. The closer the spacecraft is to
Earth, the larger Earth IR and albedo heat fluctuations it receives.
During the cold case condition, there are minimum environ-
mental fluctuations, which means that there is the maximum
eclipse time and no internal dissipation. The farther away from
Earth the nanosatellite is, the less Earth IR radiation it receives.
Therefore, the only external load is the Earth IR radiation. As the
emissivity does not suffer great variation over time, while the ab-
sorptivity tends to increase, the Beginning of Life (BOL) values are
considered for the cold case condition and the End of Life (EOL) for
the hot case.
An important parameter to consider when performing thermal
analysis for the satellite is that the space vehicle often spins as it
orbits the Earth. This spinning effect causes the vehicle to receive
heat on one side and dissipate heat through the remaining sides [2].
The combined effect of a rotating spacecraft and space solar heating
causes temperature variations on the external body, depending on
the orbit and position of the spacecraft relative to the sun [6].
5. Results and discussion
(1)
The initial thermal analysis used a steady state analysis for al-
titudes from 500 km to 2000 km. The detailed thermal analysis
used a transient analysis at 600 km.
5.1. Initial thermal analysis results
Steady state analysis equilibrium temperature results for the hot
case and cold case conditions are listed in Tables 4e7. Figs. 5e8
(2) show the temperature results based on altitudes from 500 km to
2000 km.
In Table 4, the temperature results of 60% solar cell and 40%
structure at 600 km altitude is shown. The highest temperature is
78.9  C and the lowest temperature is 105.2  C. In Table 5, the
temperature results of 70% solar cell and 30% structure at 600 km
(3) altitude is shown. The highest temperature is 70  C and the lowest

where, fa is the albedo factor and can vary for different surfaces of
the Earth. Here the albedo factor assumed in Table 3 and q is the Table 4
angle of the satellite position with respect to the zenith. Temperature results of 60% solar cell and 40% structure at 600 km altitude.
For Earth radiation
Side (1, 2, 3, 6) Temperature Side 5 Side 5


QEarthIR ¼ Ap $Fsatearth $ε$G (4) 60% solar cell 60% solar cell

40% aluminum 40% black paint

where ε is the emittance of external surfaces and G is the Earth 
C 
C
radiation flux. F is the view factor from the satellite to the Earth.
60% solar cell Tmax 67.2 78.9
40% aluminum Tmin 65.9 49.7
Table 3 100% aluminum Tmax 48.4 62.2
Material properties. Tmin 65.9 49.7
60% solar cell Tmax 18.7 26.8
Al 6061 T6 Solar cells Black paint
40% black paint Tmin 105.2 92.0
Emissivity 0.08 0.6 0.9 100% black paint Tmax 28.4 35.8
Absorptivity 0.379 0.68 0.94 Tmin 105.2 92.0
1080 M. Bulut, N. Sozbir / Applied Thermal Engineering 75 (2015) 1076e1083

Table 5
Temperature results of 70% solar cell and 30% structure at 600 km altitude.

Side (1, 2, 3, 6) Temperature Side 5 Side 5

70% solar cell 70% solar cell

30% aluminum 30% black paint

 
C C

70% solar cell Tmax 61.7 70.0

30% aluminum Tmin 69.2 57.5
100% aluminum Tmax 41.0 51.0
Tmin 69.2 57.5
70% solar cell Tmax 20.5 26.8
30% black paint Tmin 101.5 91.7
100% black paint Tmax 32.0 37.5
Tmin 101.5 91.7

Table 6
Temperature results of 80% solar cell and 20% structure at 600 km altitude.

Side (1, 2, 3, 6) Temperature Side 5 Side 5

80% solar cell 80% solar cell

20% aluminum 20% black paint


C 
C Fig. 5. Temperature results of 60% solar cell and 40% aluminum with altitude from
500 km to 2000 km.
80% solar cell Tmax 57.1 62.4
20% aluminum Tmin 72.0 64.5
100% aluminum Tmax 34.7 41.2
Tmin 72.0 64.5 Figs. 5e8 show the temperature results based on altitudes from
80% solar cell Tmax 22.5 26.7
500 km to 2000 km. The surface number 1, 2, 3 and 6 is % solar cells
20% black paint Tmin 97.9 91.3
100% black paint Tmax 35.6 39.3
and % aluminum. Surface number 5 is % solar cells and % black paint.
Tmin 97.9 91.3 In Fig. 5, the highest temperature varies between 65.4  C and
67.3  C in the hot case condition. The lowest temperature varies
between 65  C and 73  C. In Fig. 6, the highest temperature
varies between 59.8  C and 61.8  C in the hot case condition. The
temperature is 101.5  C. In Table 6, the temperature results of 80% lowest temperature varies between 68.7  C and 76.7  C. In Fig. 7,
solar cell and 20% structure at 600 km altitude is shown. The the highest temperature varies between 51.1  C and 53.3  C in the
highest temperature is 62.4  C and the lowest temperature hot case condition. The lowest temperature varies
is 97.9  C. In Table 7, the temperature results of 90% solar cell and between 71.4  C and 79.9  C. In Fig. 8, the highest temperature
10% structure at 600 km altitude is shown. The highest temperature varies between 51.1  C and 53.3  C in the hot case condition. The
is 55.7  C and the lowest temperature is 94.2  C. It can be seen
from Tables 4e7 that the highest temperature is 78.9  C and the
lowest temperature is 105.2  C in Table 4. Tmax is the allowable
temperature limit for all electronic equipment except batteries. The
cold case predictions yield worse conditions. The temperatures of
the nano-satellite subsystem are below the cold limits for the
eclipse equilibrium temperature. Tables 4e7 show that the lowest
temperature values are between Tmin ¼ 105.2  C and
Tmin ¼ 49.7  C. The nanosatellite is below the cold limit.

Table 7
Temperature results of 90% solar cell and 10% structure at 600 km altitude.

Side (1, 2, 3, 6) Temperature Side 5 Side 5

90% solar cell 90% solar cell

10% aluminum 10% black paint

 
C C

90% solar cell Tmax 53.1 55.7

10% aluminum Tmin 74.3 70.7
100% aluminum Tmax 29.3 32.4
Tmin 74.3 70.7
90% solar cell Tmax 24.5 26.7
10% black paint Tmin 94.2 90.9
100% black paint Tmax 39.3 41.2
Fig. 6. Temperature results of 70% solar cell and 30% aluminum with altitude from
Tmin 94.2 90.9
500 km to 2000 km.
 M. Bulut, N. Sozbir / Applied Thermal Engineering 75 (2015) 1076e1083
Fig. 7. Temperature results of 80% solar cell and 20% aluminum with altitude from
500 km to 2000 km.
lowest temperature varies between 73.7  C and 82.6  C. It can
seen from Figs. 5e8 that the highest temperature is 67.3  C and the
lowest temperature is 79.9  C.
5.2. Detailed thermal analysis results
In order to find an orbital temperature distribution of the sat-
ellite component, Equation (1) is solved using ThermXL. The
maximum and minimum temperature results for the hot case and
cold case conditions at 600 km during transient analysis are shown
in Fig. 9.
The lowest temperature among all the faces is Face-4, because
Face-4 has the antenna. This face is aluminum. The operating of
temperature of PCB (RFCM, EPM-1, EPM-2, DCM-1 and DCM-2) is
Fig. 8. Temperature results of 90% solar cell and 10% aluminum with altitude from
500 km to 2000 km.
1081
Fig. 9. Temperature results of detailed thermal analysis.
between 40  C and þ85  C. The detailed calculated temperature
for PCBs is between 20  C and 35  C in the cold case condition.
Table 1 shows that the minimum temperature for PCB is 40  C.
Therefore, the detailed calculated temperatures are within the
allowable range. In the hot case condition, the detailed calculated
temperature for PCBs is between 30  C and 40  C. Table 1 shows
that the maximum temperature for PCBs is þ85  C. The detailed
calculated temperature is within the allowable range. The oper-
ating temperature of the batteries at charge is between 0  C
and þ45  C. On the other hand, the operating temperature of the
batteries at discharge is between 20  C and þ60  C. In the hot case
condition, the temperature of the batteries is 37.48  C. It is within
the range of the allowable maximum temperature. In the cold case
condition, the temperature of the batteries is 22.87  C. It is not
within the range of allowable temperatures. The operating mini-
mum temperature of the batteries is 20  C.
6. Conclusions
In this paper, the initial thermal performance of the nano-
satellite in the LEO from 500 km to 2000 km altitude was pre-
sented. The detailed thermal design and analysis of the nano-
satellite operating in LEO were also presented at 600 km altitude.
The main advantage of the initial and detailed models was that
solutions could be obtained rapidly and easily. Nano-satellite
components need to be maintained within their acceptable tem-
perature limits in order to remain operational. It was a goal to
provide an adequate control because of the low available thermal
power.
A steady state analysis was performed for the initial thermal
analysis. The results of the temperature are equilibrium tempera-
ture. The results of the initial analysis involving only radiation
(environmental fluxes) of the satellite were represented by a simple
cube. It was seen that the temperatures were varied according to the
percentage of the material which covers the nano-satellite faces. The
surface temperatures of nanosatellite were not affected by the alti-
tude of the nanosatellite because the Earth IR flux is just a small
percentage of the total flux (solar flux, Earth albedo, and Earth IR
flux) that the nanosatellite received. Surface coatings and the per-
centage of the solar cell covering the face of the nanosatellite affect
the temperature of not only the hot case but also the cold case
condition. Increasing the percentage of solar cells from sixty percent
to ninety percentages also increases the Tmax temperature for 100%
black paint and 60% solar cells and 40% black paint. Temperature
results indicate that in the hot case condition, the temperatures are
1082 M. Bulut, N. Sozbir / Applied Thermal Engineering 75 (2015) 1076e1083

well above the allowable temperatures of the LiPo batteries. The Superscripts
temperatures are below those for solar cells and black paint coatings. A associated with albedo
For the cold case condition, the temperatures were well below the d associated with dissipated heat
allowable temperatures for all coatings. Therefore, using all faces as E associated with emitted Earth radiation
solar cells and the type of coating material need to be justified. These
are governed by its surface properties, in particular ε and a. Other- References
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tures, except the batteries. The batteries were out of their allowed [8] M. Bulut, S. Demirel, S. Gulgonul, N. Sozbir, Battery thermal design conception
range of temperatures in the cold case condition. The temperature of Turkish satellite, in: 6th International Energy Conversion Engineering
of the batteries dropped below 20  C in the cold case condition. In Conference, AIAA, Cleveland, Ohio, USA, 2008-5787, 2008.
[9] M. Bulut, S. Gulgonul, N. Sozbir, Thermal control design of TUSAT, in: 6th
order to get the batteries' temperature within the allowable tem- International Energy Conversion Engineering Conference, AIAA, Cleveland,
perature range in the cold case condition, a detailed analysis of Ohio, USA, 2008-5751, 2008.
more than one node needs to be performed for each component. It [10] N. Sozbir, M. Bulut, M.F. Oktem, A. Kahriman, A. Chaix, Design of thermal
control subsystem for TUSAT telecommunication satellite, in: Proc. of World
will help get the calculated batteries' temperature within the range
Academy of Science, Engineering and Technology, ICTE 2008: International
in the cold case condition. Otherwise, a small heater is needed to Conference on Thermal Engineering, vol. 33, 2008, pp. 405e408.
raise the temperature of the batteries. [11] N. Sozbir, M. Bulut, A. Chaix, Thermal control of CM and SM panels for Turkish
satellite, in: SAE 39th International Conference on Environmental Conference
on Environmental Systems, Savannah, Georgia, USA, 2009-01-2376, 2009.
Nomenclature [12] B.A. Moffitt, J.C. Batty, Predictive thermal analysis of the combat sentinel
satellite, in: 16th AIAA/USU Conference on Small Satellites, Logan, Utah, USA,
Ap projected area (m2) 2002.
[13] J.R. Tsai, Overview of satellite thermal analytical model, J. Spacecr. Rockets 41
c the specific heat capacity (J/kg K) (1) (2004) 120e125.
fa albedo factor [14] E. Escobar, M. Diaz, J.C. Zagal, Design automation for satellite passive thermal
F view factor control, in: The 4S Symposium, Portoroz, Slovenia, 2012.
[15] M. Bulut, A. Kahriman, N. Sozbir, Design and analysis for the thermal control
G earth radiation flux (W/m2) system of nanosatellite, in: ASME 2010 International Mechanical Congress
Kij conduction conductance (W/K) and Exposition, Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada, 2010.
M the mass of the node (kg) [16] R. Onetto, H. Paas, H. Perez, Cube Satellite Design Final Report, EML Design
Project, Florida International University, Florida, USA, 2010.
Q heat rate or heat input (W)
[17] J. Bauer, M. Carter, K. Kelley, E. Mello, S. Nue, A. Oprhanos, T. Shaffer,
Qalbedo albedo radiation (W) A. Withrow, Mechanical, Power, and Thermal Subsystem Design for a Cubesat
QEarthIR Earth IR radiation (W) Mission, Project: JB3-CBS2, Worchester Polytechnic Institute, Worcester,
Massachusetts, USA, 2012.
Qid internal dissipation (W)
[18] S. Czernik, Design of the Thermal Control System for Compass-1, University of
Qin internal heat input (W) Applied Sciences, Aachen, Germany, 2004.
Qout outer heat input (W) [19] B.A. Moffitt, Predictive Thermal Analysis of the Combat Sentinel Satellite Test
Qsun solar radiation (W) Article (MSc Dissertation), Utah State University, Logan, Utah, USA, 2003.
[20] T. Totani, H. Ogawa, R. Inoue, T.K. Das, M. Wakita, H. Nagata, Proposal of
S solar constant (W/m2) procedure of thermal design on micro and nano satellites pointing to Earth,
T temperature (K or  C) in: 43rd International Conference on Environmental Systems, Vail, CO, USA,
t time (s) 2013.
[21] C. Shengzhu, C. Xuekang, W. Xiyuan, H. Chuang, Y. Jianping, Novel type of
micro-variable radiator for spacecraft thermal control, Chin. J. Vac. Sci.
Greek symbols Technol. 08 (2013).
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thermal architecture system connecting the east and west radiator panels and
ε emittance of external surfaces flight performance prediction, Appl. Therm. Eng. 65 (2014) 623e632.
Jij radiation exchange factor (script F) between surfaces (or [23] E. Blom, E. Narverud, R. Birkeland, Technical Specifications, 2006, pp. 25e29.
nodes) i and j [24] L.V. Pisacane, Fundamentals of Space Systems, Oxford University Press, New
York, USA, 2005.
q the angle of the satellite position with respect to the [25] Clyde Space, on the WWW at: www.clyde-space.com (retrieved 25/10/2013).
zenith [26] Pumpkin Inc, on the WWW at:www.cubesatkit.com (Retrieved 25/10/2013).
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Technologies, second ed., The Aerospace Corporation Press, El Segundo, Cal-
Subscripts
ifornia, USA, 2002.
i location; node; inner [28] AZ Technology, Inc., Specialists in Materials and Applications, Spacecraft
i, j from node, body, or surface i to node, body, or surface j Thermal Control and Conductive Paints/Coatings and Service Catalog,
j location; node; inner Huntsville, AL, USA, January 2008.
[29] A.D. Willams, S.A. Palo, S.A. Korpela, Issues and implications of the thermal
j, k from node, body, or surface j to node, body, or surface k control systems on the ‘ six day spacecraft’, in: 4th Responsive Space Con-
sat-earth satellite to earth ference, RS4-2006-6001, Los Angeles, California, USA, 2006.
 M. Bulut, N. Sozbir / Applied Thermal Engineering 75 (2015) 1076e1083
Murat Bulut was born in Osmaniye in 1972. He holds a
Bachelor of Science degree in Mechanical Engineering
from Selcuk University in Konya, TURKEY and a Master of
Science degree in Mechanical Engineering from Rochester
Institute of Technology in Rochester, NY, USA. His masters
thesis involved Experimental Investigation of Flow Boiling
Heat Transfer with Ethylene Glycol/Water, under the su-
pervision of Prof. Dr. S.G. Kandlikar. He has been Ph.D.
candidate since 2012 in Mechanical Engineering Depart-
ment in Sakarya University, Turkey. He joined TURKSAT A.S
in 2006 as Satellite Thermal Engineer and worked for
Thales Alenia Space between 2006e2007 and 2010e2012
in Cannes, France. Before joining TURKSAT, he worked for
Carrier Corporation at Large Rooftop Products as an
application and development engineer in Syracuse, New York, USA and McMinnville,
Tennessee, USA. His major interest of study is heat transfer, HVAC, Spacecraft Thermal
Control and Thermal Vacuum applications.
1083
Nedim So € zbir got his Ph.D. in Mechanical Engineering at
_
Istanbul University in Istanbul, Turkey in 1995. He worked
as a Visiting Scholar at Mechanical Engineering Depart-
ment, University of Miami, FL, USA from 1994 to 1995 and
worked as a Visiting Researcher at Thermal Science Lab,
Mechanical Engineering Department, Carnegie Mellon
University, Pa, USA from 2000 to 2004. He also worked as a
Thermal Engineer in Thales Alenia Space, France from
2006 to 2008. His research interests are mainly at elec-
tronic cooling, forced convection, heat transfer, spray
cooling and thermal system design. Now he is working as
an Associate Professor at the Department of Mechanical
Engineering, Sakarya University in Sakarya, Turkey.