Title :
Radiation cooled TWTs at end-of-life: An evaluation of thermal evolution over 15 years
Author :
Kaliski, Michael A. R.
Author_Institution :
TWTA Eng. Dept., SSL, Palo Alto, CA, USA
Abstract :
After 15 years, the first spacecraft using direct radiating collector (DRC) TWTs since their widespread introduction have reached the end of their mission life. This paper reviews the trends in DRC TWT thermal performance over that time, using on-orbit temperature measurements from dozens of DRC TWTs. The results yield valuable data about the thermal environment and absolute maximum and minimum temperatures encountered in the harsh thermal environment.
Keywords :
space vehicle electronics; thermal engineering; travelling wave tubes; DRC TWT thermal performance; direct radiating collector TWT; on-orbit temperature measurements; radiation cooled TWT; spacecraft; thermal evolution evaluation; Market research; Orbits; Space vehicles; Temperature measurement; Temperature sensors; Testing; DRC; TWTs; radiation cooled; spacecraft thermal control; traveling wave tubes;
Conference_Titel :
Vacuum Electronics Conference (IVEC), 2013 IEEE 14th International
Conference_Location :
Paris
Print_ISBN :
978-1-4673-5976-4
DOI :
10.1109/IVEC.2013.6571136
