Spacecraft thermal system

In space a spacecraft must be able to withstand sudden and extreme temperatures. Failure to do so can result in loss of data, life or the entire spacecraft. In this episode of Celestial Sphere we look at issues caused by the thermal environment of space and the various methods that's used to keep spacecraft within their operating temperature range.
Music
Spatial voyage from A to B by Hans Atom (c) copyright 2012 Licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution (3.0) license. dig.ccmixter.org/files/hansato...
Please checkout out our android space app called Curiosity. It's lets you send spacecraft to all of the inner planets of the solar system from earth.
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[@ReflectiveLayerFilm]

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[@SimplySpace]

Good timing, I was just reading about solar beta angle constraints on Shuttle-ISS missions. Another great video!

[@ReflectiveLayerFilm]

Thx. It was fun doing the research on this one. I didn't know about the Hubble solar panel issue until now.

[@IndraBlackthorne]

My college years are twenty years behind me. Thanks for making this easy to understand while still packing a good amount of information about cooling spacecraft. You have my sub!

[@ReflectiveLayerFilm]

Awesome, Thanks and Welcome to Reflective Layer.

[@aaron9296]

Great introductory video to thermal management, thank you!

[@scottburrell2729]

Excellent explanation of heat on the ISS I international Space Station/ it would seem in -83 C that this is a huge issue as well as O2 generation and h2o However the thermal piping or radiant heat system still sort of foggy..

[@gholl]

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[@BeRohan5]

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[@ReflectiveLayerFilm]

Awesome, thanks! I'm glad you like the content

[@mikecimerian6913]

I was looking for this specific subject and I couldn't have found better. I am thinking beyond tubular design and heat dissipation seemed a requirement for this to be feasible. Spot on. Kudos and thanks.

[@ReflectiveLayerFilm]

Glad it was helpful!

[@desytriviany154]

great video. thank you

[@samokablamo]

Thank you for such a fantastic and informative video! You have my subscription!!

[@MrWulfSolter]

Keep up the good work :)

[@Torjus_]

Underrated channel. You're content is really in-depth and interesting. Always learn something new that no one else covers. Keep it up and someday you will hit a viral video and gain more subs, cheers!

[@ReflectiveLayerFilm]

Much appreciated!

[@photoast]

Great work.

[@GalenMatson]

Amazing video. Highly detailed and very informative. Thanks very much!

[@ReflectiveLayerFilm]

Glad you enjoyed it! Thanks.

[@joey3291]

Very cool vedio and explanations. thanks!

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[@Inesophet]

Great video learned alot!

[@suhaylpatel9471]

Really good content and insight!

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[@ReflectiveLayerFilm]

Thanks a lot

[@bbmeme2010]

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Your videos are awesome

[@ReflectiveLayerFilm]

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[@alanpitthan6370]

Great video !!

[@ReflectiveLayerFilm]

Glad you enjoyed it. Thanks for the comment.

[@erozi3512]

Fantastic!

[@ReflectiveLayerFilm]

Many thanks!

[@teslababbage]

Wonderful video, thank you.

[@shanealharbi8664]

Always wondered how heat is siphoned off of the ISS. Thermal control is the biggest challenge we face after energy production if we ever plan to travel space!

[@zyxwvutsrqponmlkh]

"The universe was smaller than a subatomic particle" [Citation Needed]

[@odis_of_america]

is it possible to add more moon light at night with a reflector? I think it might most set the vibe right.

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Extremely underrated channel 🙁🙁keep up buddy

[@ReflectiveLayerFilm]

Appreciate it! Thx

[@AnupamVipul]

my channel is small but I will promote your video on my upcoming Rocket Monday series.

[@ReflectiveLayerFilm]

Thanks. I really appreciate you helping this channel grow.

[@tomascancelliere4348]

Does they ever use magnetocoloric cooling?

[@danieloosthuizen8709]

Thanks used some of the ISS info for my assignment

[@ReflectiveLayerFilm]

Awesome. Glad it helped!

[@vladimir.2648]

How do we heat the interior of the ISS? If for example the temperature becomes too low ? (We have seen the air conditioning system but what is the heating system ?)

[@malceum]

Hold on. NASA needs to come up with another ad hoc explanation.

[@jaypanchal5042]

Beautiful

[@cosmicdetective8052]

Awesome illustration, may I know how do you make these realistic model? Blender?

[@ReflectiveLayerFilm]

Most of the time I get the 3d models either from Sketchfab - sketchfab.com/feed or NASA - nasa3d.arc.nasa.gov/models The few times that I need a custom model I make them in Blender www.blender.org/

[@procactus9109]

Comment for the sake of a comment. Still watching

[@malakiblunt]

for the algorithm

[@vecstrandedonabarrenplanet7343]

I pose a question, if a spacecraft required the use of low temperature superconductors for use in say a fusion reactor. Would it be possible for a cryo-cooler like the one shown in this video, or a series of them, to take the heat out of the superconductors operating at say -150 C or lower, and concentrate it up to say 100 C or more? Then would it be possible to reject the gathered heat through the higher temperature radiator panels?

[@vecstrandedonabarrenplanet7343]

I ask because a higher temperature panels radiate waste heat more effectively then colder panels, so a radiator loop cooling a superconductor at -150 C is quite large, as opposed to cryo-cooler heat concentrated panels rejecting the gathered thermal waste energy at higher temperature like 100 C or more.

[@ReflectiveLayerFilm]

Not sure I follow. What role is the superconductor playing in the scenario? I don't know if the potential efficiency gained is worth the increase complexity in the panels. The working fluid may also have to be changed due to the higher operating temperature.

[@vecstrandedonabarrenplanet7343]

@@ReflectiveLayerFilm The superconductor would be the object of the cooling in this hypothetical situation. I'm pretty sure that I answered my own question in asking it though. As far as the working fluids are concerned they could increase in temperature after every cryo-cooler layer. Until the final fluid is something very hot like liquid sodium, in a simple steel radiator with high emissivity coating of something like carbon, or titanium/ silicon dioxide. Only problem now is the quantity of coolant that can flow through at any one time. For a fusion reactor on a large starship it could go through thousands of liters per minute, so the flow rate issue is the real problem. Because the cryo-cooler array would have to be truly massive to cool so much, so quickly, in a coolant loop. Informative video, however. Thank you.

[@anekdoche7055]

ah i love feeling like i am in the future

[@lelonapaloma5762]

What would be the possibilities of life on outer space?🙂

[@ReflectiveLayerFilm]

If you're talking about outer space like beyond earth then it's certainly possible that life can exist there. The environment just has to be one that supports life. Statistically speaking some planets at the very least should be able to support life. But at far as the possibility of life existing in the void of space, that's impossible or at least not for very long. The main reason is that life needs usable energy and resources. These both are rare in the void of space. Solar energy is the only source of energy but only usable if you are within a star system. You also have to 100% recycle all of the matter that is used.

[@wgulezian2062]

great information and well presented. He just needs to work on his enunciation more.

[@stormerneo2244]

Isnt space a vacuum? How do radiators transfer heat into space when there are no particles

[@ReflectiveLayerFilm]

Yes, space is a vacuum. The radiators transfer the heat into space thru radiation. The radiation in this case is infra-red. This is a different mode of heat transfer than a radiator in a house or a car. They transfer heat mostly through convection with the surrounding air. A small amount of heat is also transferred through infra-red radiation.

[@stormerneo2244]

@@ReflectiveLayerFilm Ohh i see! Thank you for answering my question!

[@K162KingPin]

This taught me absolutely nothing about how heat is radiated in space. On earth there is air so cooler air comes into thermal contact with something warmer, and heat is transferred to the cooler air and blown away to dissipate on its own with the rest of the air. In space there is no air. So where does the heat go?

[@ReflectiveLayerFilm]

You’re correct. Since there’s no air in space, cooling can only be done via radiation. At 3:26 in the video, the heat from inside the ISS is removed by using it to heat up Ammonia. The ammonia is then piped to the big radiators. The main job of the radiators is to dramatically increase the contact area between the ammonia that’s carrying the heated and the pipe that it’s flowing through. This pipe is directly in space. And this is the key. Every object(matter) that’s not at absolute zero will convert it’s internal thermal energy to thermal radiation(infrared). And in that process of radiating, energy will be lost and the object will cool down. The hotter the temperature, the stronger the radiation. On the other hand objects can absorb radiation like infrared , microwave, etc and convert it to internal thermal energy which will then raise its temperature. So if you want to cool something in space, all you have to do is make sure that it’s radiating more energy than it’s absorbing. Paint it white or make it Reflective. That way it absorbs very little radiation but radiates a lot due to its temperature. Let me know if you’ve got additional questions.

[@K162KingPin]

@@ReflectiveLayerFilm So it is not radiating heat like we do on earth where the heat is transferred from the object to air then blown away from the object. It seems like what you are saying is that the heat is converted into infrared which is light? So basically the "radiators" as we call them for space are actually giant light bulbs that emit light below the spectrum we can see and run on heat instead of electricity. I mean I guess that could make sense as to how it gets rid of the heat I just don't even remotely understand how to convert heat into light except for example when you head metal up so hot it glows. But then thats getting the light into our visible spectrum. So was it already glowing in the infrared spectrum all the time and just got brighter and brighter until it finally got to the visible spectrum?

[@ReflectiveLayerFilm]

Yes, before you heat up the metal, it’s already emitting in the infrared(IR). That’s how a passive infrared camera can see in the dark. They detect the IR radiation emitted by the objects. The warmer the object, the stronger the IR. As long as the temperature is above absolute zero it will emit IR. So even cold objects like ice emit infrared but a much weaker level. Since energy can not be created/destroyed, the object has to cool down in the process. The radiators are like giant light bulbs in a sense. But instead of ultimately converting electricity into visible radiation, they increase the rate at which natural radiative cooling happens. They work almost in the exact way that a radiator in a car with an engine works. Fluid heated up by the engine flows through the radiator. The radiator has a long tube with fins along its length. When the fluid heats up the metal tube, the fins are also heated up. Since all the fins combined have a large surface area, more of the heated surface will be in contact with air which will take that heat away via the process of conduction. Heat is also lost via radiation from those same surfaces but conduction is way more effective than radiation. That’s why the ISS needs those giant radiators because heat loss via radiation is really slow unlike in the movies. But in space that’s the only game in town.

[@foadrightnow5725]

You DO know that space is NOT what we've been told it is, right?

[@douglascoggeshall2490]

2023-11-07 ... absolutely fantastic presentation ...