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Laboratory for Atmospheric and Space Physics

Thermal Subsystem

The thermal design consists of three parts: radiative windows for the electronics stack, silver coated Teflon tape on these windows, and heaters for the spacecraft battery. The design is intended to be mostly passive, with the battery heaters used during early mission operations. Detailed analysis has been performed for off-nominal situations to ensure the survival of the satellite. The thermal analysis, using Thermal Desktop, indicates that the internal electronics will operate between -6.5 and +26°C. The satellite has also undergone rigorous thermal cycling as part of the thermal vacuum testing.