Patent attributes
A passive thermal control system maintains the operating temperature range of protected equipment within desired limits by controlling the conductive attributes of thermal interfaces and physical relationships within the system so as to achieve a desired thermal balance. In one embodiment, an integrated cell unit (100) includes a solar array (102), a Lithium ion cell (108) and an antenna assembly (114) such as a phased array antenna. In operation, a thermal gradient (116) is defined between the array (102) and the assembly (114) as the assembly (114) radiates heat from the array (102) into space. The operating temperature range of the cell (108) is controlled by appropriate design of the thermal interfaces between the cell (108) and the assembly (114) and/or interfaces within the assembly (114), such as a thermal interface associated with dielectric spacers provided between emitter pairs of the assembly (114).
