MAE 4441 - Spacecraft Thermal Management

Fall. 4 credits. Letter grades only.

Prerequisites: MAE 3230 and MAE 3240. Enrollment limited to: M.E. seniors or permission of instructor. Satisfies M.E. senior design requirement. Co-meets with MAE 4440/MAE 5440.

S. Sobhani.

This course will overview the physical princples governing existing spacecraft thermal management technologies, including conductive and radiative heat transfer, passive and active fluid transport, and ablation. One focus of the class is on thermal protection, which consists of materials and systems designed to protect spacecraft from extreme temperatures, particularly during atmospheric entry. Additionally, we discuss thermal control systems, which maintain all vehicle surfaces and compnents within an appropriate temperature range throughout all mission phases. Integral to the class is the reading and discussion of scientific research articles on the topics of spacecraft thermal control and protection.

Outcome 1: Students will be able to identify flight paths and operating conditions corresponding to insulative versus ablative heat shields in thermal protection systems.

Outcome 2: Students will be able to identify the mechanisms (e.g., radiation, capillary forces, etc.) governing existing thermal control technologies.

Outcome 3: Students will be able to participate in reading and discussion of scientific research articles.