MAE 4441

Spacecraft Thermal Management

Course Description

Course information provided by the Courses of Study 2023-2024. Courses of Study 2023-2024 is scheduled to publish mid-June.

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.

When Offered Fall.

Permission Note Enrollment limited to: M.E. seniors or permission of instructor.
Prerequisites/Corequisites Prerequisites: MAE 3230 and MAE 3240.

Satisfies Requirement Satisfies M.E. senior design requirement.

• Students will be able to identify flight paths and operating conditions corresponding to insulative versus ablative heat shields in thermal protection systems.
• Students will be able to identify the mechanisms (e.g., radiation, capillary forces, etc.) governing existing thermal control technologies.
• Students will be able to participate in reading and discussion of scientific research articles.

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