The weight of radiators with a thermo-optical coating, which provide the stable temperature control of the equipment used in space vehicles, has been reduced by 25 % due to the use of a superconducting carbon fiber-reinforced plastic instead of aluminium alloys. Europe was the first to apply this process of manufacturing radiators.
The reduction of weight of the temperature control system will make it possible to provide the space vehicle with a large fuel load, and, thus, the active life of the space vehicle will be extended. Moreover, the reduction of the aggregate weight of satellites will permit the extra equipment to be installed and, therefore, the range of problems to be performed by the space vehicle on orbit to be extended.
At present, using this new process there have been produced four radiators with the thermo-optical coating for the domestic meteorological satellite ARKTIKA (Lavochkin Research and Production Association), the acceptance tests of which have been carried out successfully. The satellite is to be launched next year.
“Thirty five space vehicles having high-technology products of ORPE Technologiya have been placed into orbit for 11 countries of the world. It is over the last three years that more than four hundred unique products have been manufactured for the space engineering. Not long ago, the Technologiya’s development was presented at the 46th International Conference on Environmental Systems ICES 2016 and was greatly appreciated by the professional community, namely, by the representatives of the European Space Agency,” noted Kirill Shubsky, Director-General of RT-Chemcomposite.
