Thermal system design and verification for the high-altitude balloon payloads

Maintaining all of the equipment in the payload designed for space/near-space operation is a challenge. Because there is insufficient air in the high-altitude environment, the only way to remove heat from sensitive equipment is through conduction and radiation cooling. Other stringent constraints for such payloads, including power consumption, size limitation, and weight limitation, require thermal engineering to be integrated as part of the overall payload design and construction. The intern student will pursue the thermal design of a balloon-borne payload, EXCITE, as part of StarSpec Technologies. The intern will learn thermal software to simulate the near- space environment and evaluate the developed models with test data from the thermal-vacuum test, where the entire payload will be put under the near-space environment. This intern program will benefit StarSpec as the program aims to develop streamlined methods to incorporate thermal design and mitigation plans.

Faculty Supervisor:

Nahee Park

Student:

Partner:

StarSpec Technologies Inc.

Discipline:

Physics

Sector:

Professional, scientific and technical services

University:

Queen's University

Program: