Conceptual Design of a Small Satellite Deployable, Reflective Insulation For Thermal Environment Retention (SS DRIFTER)

"The Small Satellite Deployable, Reflective Insulation For Thermal Environment Retention (SS DRIFTER) is the conceptual design of a technology demonstration payload for a Small Satellite (SmallSat) mission. SmallSats are a class of spacecraft known for their low-risk, low-cost missions that fit in enclosures as small as 10 cm x 10 cm x 10 cm. In the harsh thermal environment of space where temperatures can reach as low as 3 Kelvin, the SS DRIFTER payload seeks to demonstrate a new technology with the objective of retaining spacecraft heat. The retention of heat is desirable in cases where the spacecraft would otherwise cease operations when the environment is too cold to function. SS DRIFTER, therefore, seeks, at its core, to extend mission duration.

The design of the payload is centered around providing a low mass, low volume, and low power system that utilizes flight-proven and developing technologies. The payload is an attempt at developing a new approach--utilizing new deployable technologies--to an old problem, namely satellite thermal control. The result of the work is the framework for a design of the system and its experimental objectives."