Performance and economic evaluation of non-standard thermal solutions on satellite platforms for near-Earth space missions.

This thesis investigates non-conventional thermal control solutions for near-Earth space missions. The objective is to evaluate the potential benefits of integrating phase change materials (PCM) capacitors, heat switches, and electrochromic devices into the spacecraft thermal control system (TCS). Four case studies have been analyzed: SBG-TIR, IRIDE, SICRAL 3, and Moonlight missions, each characterized by specific thermal challenges during different operational phases. Thermal models and ESATAN-TMS subroutines have been developed to evaluate the impact of these technologies on temperatures, power budget optimization, and mission constraints. The results demonstrate that the adoption of the analyzed TCS hardware can significantly reduce heater power consumption, thereby increasing the S/C overall performances. However, due to limited production volumes and low technology maturity, the current financial costs for these technologies makes them advantageous only when they are strictly required for mission accomplishment. Nevertheless this situation may change in the near future due to the renewed interests in space exploration, with its different thermal environments, and thus the growth of the space market (e.g. new space economy).