A spacecraft in deep-space cruise must reject of waste thermal power generated by…
PHYSICS · Multi-part · CBSE · Physics · Thermal Properties of Matter · Thermal Properties of Matter
Problem
A spacecraft in deep-space cruise must reject 12kW of waste thermal power generated by onboard electronics. Engineers plan to use external radiator panels coated with a material whose emissivity is 0.92. The panels are to operate at a uniform temperature of 250K.
(a) Calculate the total radiating surface area required to maintain thermal equilibrium under the stated conditions.
(b) The selected panel material has a mass surface density of 6.5kgm−2. Determine the minimum mass of radiator material needed.
(c) During a later mission phase, the spacecraft will be exposed to additional sunlight, raising the radiator temperature to 270K while the waste power to be rejected remains the same. Assuming emissivity is unchanged, evaluate the percentage change in required radiator area and discuss how this affects the total mass calculated in part (b).