Lessons Learned in the Application of Thermal Test Requirements for Spacecraft Units

摘要

While the emphasis of spacecraft unit thermal testing has historically focused on ground verification of electronic units, demonstrating workmanship and performance for other types of spacecraft units is equally important for a space program to achieve its mission objectives. This paper addresses thermal test environments and testing parameters that increase the test effectiveness for various spacecraft units. Rationale is provided for unit test requirements. A comparison of these test environments and parameters with requirements specified in MIL-STD-1540E for military spacecraft units shows that the thermal test requirements specified in MIL-STD-1540E are reasonable.