Thermal Hardware

High Performance Structures Inovatie si Dezvoltare SRL also has experience in the space thermal hardware sector, as the company developed, manufactured and integrated various thermal equipment, some of which are to be used in several space missions.

Radiators

Radiators are a kind of thermal hardware, which is used for shedding the excess heat produced/received during the operation of the spacecraft into space, thus maintaining operating temperatures.

HPS-RO was in charge of the bonding of the reflective tape for several Sentinel 4 radiators for the UVN instrument in contract to HPS-DE and OHB. At this moment, the two sets of manufactured Flight Models currently awaiting integration on the spacecraft.

UVN Instrument Radiator CAD Model
Integrated UVN Radiators
UVN Instrument Radiator Flight Model 2

The company also successfully conducted R&D activities under ESA contract, focused on bonding methods for high temperature range applications, with optical solar reflector being targeted as the main area of utilization (InBond).

Additionally, during the runtime of the project an in-situ repair/bonding kit was also developed.

InBond Demonstrators: bonded OSRs on a CFRP and an Aluminium sandwich panel
In-situ mobile repair/bonding kit

MLI – MULTI-LAYER INSULATION

MLI are thermal insulation blankets made from multiple thin layers of different materials used for the reduction of spacecraft heat loss in the space environment.

The company developed an ample hands-on experience in designing, manufacturing and integrating MLI blankets for multiple space missions like Proba3, Altius and HERA, as the number of customers is steadily increasing every quarter.

Proba3-OBA MLI blanket CAD Model
Customer: Sener (SP) Direct customer: HPS (DE) Final customer: ESA
Proba3-OBA Integragted Hardware
Proba3-OBA MLI blanket integrated hardware
Customer: Sener (SP) Direct customer: HPS (DE) Final customer: ESA
Sub-reflector MLI blanket design for HERA High Gain Antenna thermal hardware

THERMAL STRAPS

Thermal straps are passive heat transfer devices, that provide flexible lightweight conduction paths for removing excess heat, while offering vibration and shock attenuation.

HPS-RO, in collaboration with ESA, has developed and qualified up to TRL 4 two types of flexible thermal straps. The difference between the two products consists in the materials used for the flex-links: one made from copper and one from graphene sheets. After testing them in relevant space conditions, both types of thermal straps registered excellent thermal and mechanical properties

Thermal Strap demonstrator made from graphene sheets
FEA Thermal analysis on Thermal Strap demonstrator made from graphene sheets
Thermal Strap demonstrator made from copper braids