THERMAL TESTING

and
VERIFICATION

1
 Introduction

This lesson provides an introduction to spacecraft

thermal testing and a comparison of the thermal test
requirements and practices of different government
organizations, including NASAs Goddard Space Flight
Center (GSFC), the Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL), and
the Department of Defense (DoD). GSFC, JPL, and DoD
specifications provide well documented and detailed
requirements for spaceflight hardware testing.

2
 Overview of Thermal Testing

This lesson will explain the various kinds of thermal

testing performed on spaceflight hardware and the
objective of each type of test.

The interdependencies of thermal testing and the

spacecraft thermal design analysis process will be
explored.

Test facilities, test planning, and lessons learned will

also be discussed.

3
 Lesson Breakdown

Part 1 Purposes of thermal testing, test levels, and

margins
Part 2 Unit, development and subsystem level testing
Part 3 Spacecraft level testing
Part 4 Thermal Test Facilities and Methods
Part 5 Test Planning, Lessons Learned and Checklist

4
 Lesson Roadmap

Test Purposes and Test Test Test

Industry Practices Types Levels Margins

Unit Thermal Thermal Unit Test

Testing Cycling Vacuum Requirements

Development Subsystem
Testing Testing

Spacecraft Level Test Spacecraft Math Model

Testing Objectives Temperatures Thermal Balance Correlation

Space Test Lessons Testing

Environment
Planning Learned Checklist
Simulation

5
Fundamentals of Thermal Testing

Part 1

6
 Part 1 Roadmap

Test Purposes and Test Test Test

Industry Practices Types Levels Margins

Unit Thermal Thermal Unit Test

Testing Cycling Vacuum Requirements

Development Subsystem
Testing Testing

Spacecraft Level Test Spacecraft Math Model

Testing Objectives Temperatures Thermal Balance Correlation

Space Test Lessons Testing

Environment
Planning Learned Checklist
Simulation

7
 Introduction

This lesson discusses the purposes of thermal testing

and how various types of tests address those needs.

8
 Overview

The key objectives of thermal testing will be outlined

and the types of testing typically found in industry will
be described.

The concepts of acceptance, qualification, and

protoflight testing will be introduced.

The important role that margin plays in establishing

test temperature levels will be discussed.

9
Test Purposes and Practices

10
 Purpose of Thermal Testing

Increase confidence in the design and workmanship.

Ensure successful operation in flight.
Demonstrate robustness of design.
Verify performance within specification in flight-like
environment.
Measure critical performance parameters (e.g.
power dissipations).
Confirm thermal modeling assumptions.
Perform bake-out and verify contamination requirements.

11
 Industry Test Standards and Practices

Thermal test philosophies vary within the aerospace

community.

NASA, DoD, and Commercial practices have been

developed that have been successful in meeting the
needs of these respective organizations.

While organizational test practices share much in

common, there are differences driven by mission
environments, unique vs. high production hardware,
risk tolerance, and historical experience.

12
 Industry Test Standards and Practices (cont.)

Understanding how test requirements are driven by

customer test philosophy is necessary to ensure a
successful test.
Test terminology
Cycling requirements
Number of thermal cycles
Levels
Dwell time
Thermal balance criteria

13
 Types of Thermal Tests

Thermal tests are comprised of multiple phases.

Environmental stress screening
Performance verification
Turn-on demonstration
Thermal hardware verification
Thermal balance testing (operational and survival
cases)
Bake-out

14
Test Types

15
 Environmental Stress Screening

Subjects hardware to physical stresses that force latent

defects to become observable failures.
Allows component to be repaired or replaced.
Involves environments more severe than flight.
Soaks hardware at survival levels.
Cycles temperatures to plateaus more extreme
than expected in actual usage.
Thermal is usually last in environmental test sequence.
Exposes defects incurred during vibration,
acoustic, and shock testing.

16
 Performance Verification

Demonstration that a unit, subsystem or space vehicle

operates within specifications in a flight-like environment
Accomplished during functional tests in which
equipment is exercised over operational scenarios.
Realistic environment is maintained during the test.
Varies voltage and power dissipation over flight
ranges.
May include environmental variations for day-in-the-
life simulations.

17
 Turn-on Demonstration

The verification that a unit can be activated in a

severe thermal environment.
Powers on unit under severe temperatures,
changing temperatures, thermal gradients and/or
extreme voltage conditions.
Typically performed at hot/cold survival
conditions.
In-spec performance not required until returned
to the operational range.

18
 Thermal Balance

Verifies the thermal models capabilities for predicting

flight temperatures.
Hot, cold, and transient environments simulated.
Temperature data gathered.
Heater duty cycle data gathered.
Data used to adjust thermal math models.

19
 Bake-Out

Outgassing of unit until contamination criteria are met.

Typically performed in vacuum.
Temperatures may be elevated to accelerate bake-
out.
Contamination certification may be done at bake-
out or less extreme temperature levels.

20
Test Levels

21
 Test Levels

Testing is performed at different stress levels.

Qualification testing
Acceptance testing
Protoflight qualification testing
Development Testing

22
 Qualification Testing

Emphasis of qualification testing is on verification of

the hardware design and manufacturing process, not
the workmanship.

Testing is performed at environmental conditions more

severe than expected in flight.

Performed on non-flight equipment.

23
 Acceptance Testing

Emphasis is on verification of workmanship and

demonstration of flight-worthiness.

Demonstrates the acceptability of each deliverable

item.

Performed after qualification testing.

24
 Protoflight Qualification Testing

Qualification testing done on flight hardware.

Reduces schedule time and cost of building

qualification hardware.

Also known as protoqual testing or flight-proof testing.

Thermal environment is typically between that of

acceptance and qualification levels.

25
 Development Testing

Engineering tests used to gain information about the

design.

Can occur at any point in the test sequence, but

typically before formal qualification testing and before
unit level testing.

26
 Hardware Levels

Testing is performed at various hardware levels:

Unit Level
Subsystem or Payload Level
Spacecraft Level

27
 Thermal Tests

Three main types of thermal tests are performed:

Thermal cycle (TC) test
Thermal vacuum (TV) test
Thermal balance (TB) test

28
 Thermal Cycle Test

Rapid temperature cycling at atmospheric pressure.

Primarily for environmental stress screening.

Includes burn-in testing.

29
 Thermal Vacuum Test

Thermal cycling performed in vacuum.

Primarily for performance demonstration.

May be substituted for Thermal Cycle testing.

30
 Thermal Balance Test

Normally part of thermal vacuum test.

Performed for thermal model correlation and

verification of thermal design.

31
 Consider the Thermal Environment!
Test conditions must envelope thermal environments hardware will
see in use.

Vehicle build factory Launch pad and ascent Mission on orbit

Shipping plane, truck

Temperature Humidity Thermal Cycling Pressure

Special Considerations

Battery cooling during ground test and on launch pad

Heat pipes inoperative in non-horizontal configuration
Lubricant integrity after storage
Solar cell inspection after test environment
Transfer orbit environments can be highly stressing on power systems

32
 Example - Thermal Test Profile
HS
HS, AF HS, AF HS, FF
FF
Temperature

FF

FF
.

FF CS, AF CS, FF
CS

FF Full Functional Performance Test Time

AF Abbreviated Functional Test
HS Hot Starts
CS Cold Starts

33
Test Margins

34
Application of Thermal Test Margins

Hot margin provides assurance that hardware

is robust and that test temperatures will not be
exceeded in flight.

Bounding analytic predictions consider worst realistic

combinations of:
Orbit environments
Spacecraft Orientation
Articulation/deployment configuration
Interface Conductance
Voltage
Power dissipation
Eclipse conditions
Surface finish degradation
Ascent or transfer orbit conditions

Cold margin provides assurance that hardware

is robust and that test temperatures will not be
exceeded in flight.

35
 Acceptance Test Temperature Range

The acceptance temperature range is established

based upon thermal model predictions plus margin
OR a default minimum temperature range.
Default minimum acceptance ranges are typically
driven by need to adequately stress hardware in
thermal cycle tests.

36
 Acceptance Test Temperature Range (cont.)

If a unit was previously qualified for another program,

the existing acceptance range is generally retained
and the spacecraft designed to maintain the unit
within that range.

37
 Acceptance Test Temperature Range (cont.)

Margin between analysis and test temperature

maintained through uncertainty margin and/or
Allowable Flight Temperature (AFT) limits.
DoD typically applies 11C analysis uncertainty margin
between predictions and acceptance test temperatures per
MilStd 1540. (1,2)
NASA typically applies AFT limits that maintain 5C margin
between AFT and acceptance. (3)
GSFC adds another 5C margin for analysis uncertainty (4)
Analysis predictions allowed to go to AFT at JPL, with
additional margin as a goal. (5)

38
 Qualification Temperature Range

Qualification testing is conducted beyond expected

service temperatures on non-flight hardware.
Serves as the minimum design temperature range
for the hardware.
Ensures design robustness.
Proves the design by exposing design defects.
Demonstrates tolerance to degradation (fatigue,
wear).
Proves compatibility with acceptance test
tolerances.
39
 Qualification Temperature Range (cont.)

Qualification temperature range is established based

upon the acceptance temperature range plus a
qualification margin.
10C margin for DoD (1)
10C for GSFC (3)
15C (cold) and 20C (hot) for JPL (5)

Some organizations specify a default minimum

qualification range.
34 to + 71C for DoD (1)
35 to + 70C for JPL (5)
40
 Qualification Temperature Range (cont.)

Qualification hardware is usually not flown because it

has been exposed to excessive environments during
test.

41
 Protoflight Qualification Temperature Range

A compromise in the test sequence in which

qualification testing is performed on flight equipment.

Protoflight test temperature range typically in between

acceptance and qualification ranges.
The qualification margin over acceptance is reduced
from 10C to 5C for GSFC and DoD. (3,1)
The qualification margin is not reduced for
protoqualification tests at JPL. (5)

42
 Survival Temperature Range

Temperature range over which the hardware must

survive.
In-spec performance not required.
Operating (unit on) and non-operational (unit
off) survival temperature limits.
Set at the beginning of the program based on
hardware limitations.

43
 Turn-on Temperature

Usually, the cold temperature at which the unit can

safely be turned on.
Frequently, this is the cold operating survival
temperature, otherwise the unit will need to be
warmed to this temperature by heaters prior to
turning on electronics.
In-spec performance not required until hardware
reaches operational temperature range.
Usually set at the beginning of the program.
Restricts unit operation.

44
 Predicted Flight Temperatures are Uncertain

Difficulties in accurately capturing complex view factors,

radiation environments.
Directional reflectance and emittance of real surfaces not
modeled.
Imperfect knowledge of surface properties.
Cables and harnesses typically not included in model.
Joint and interface conduction hard to predict accurately.
Multi Layer Insulation (MLI) effective emissivity is difficult to
predict accurately.
Nodalization patterns chosen by analyst can introduce error.
Ground test simulation not perfect.
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 THERMAL UNCERTAINTY DROPS AS DESIGN MATURES
Thermal Uncertainty
Concept definition to Preliminary Design Review
High Trade studies with simple models
Requirements being defined
Preliminary to Critical Design Review Identifying potential development problems
Thermal models developed or refined
More analysis cases being analyzed
Requirement verification Critical Design Review to thermal balance test
Medium Updates to analysis
Problem areas well understood

Thermal balance test to launch

Correlation of thermal model to test
data
Final flight predictions
Low
Launch and on-orbit operations
Correlation of thermal model to flight
data

46
 Margin Covers Thermal Uncertainties

For NASA, 5C is maintained between Allowable Flight

Temperature (AFT) and Acceptance.
GSFC requires an additional 5C margin between
analysis and AFT while JPL suggests that as a goal. (4)
For elements that are thermally controlled by active
means, a 30% excess control authority may be
substituted for temperature margin, i.e., predictions
can equal the acceptance test temperature. (4)

47
 Margin Covers Thermal Uncertainties (cont.)

For DoD, 11C is maintained between analysis

predictions and Acceptance temperature after models
have been correlated to Thermal Balance test data. (1)
An additional 6C margin is required prior to
Thermal Balance test, where practical. (1)
Where active thermal control is used, a 25%
excess control authority may be substituted for
the 11C. (1)

48
 Margin Covers Thermal Uncertainties (cont.)

Commercial programs typically apply 5C between

analysis predictions and Acceptance.
Willingness to accept higher risks.
Less one-of-a-kind hardware, more space heritage.
Orbits and thermal environments that are common
throughout their product line.

49
 Basis for DoD Thermal Uncertainty Margin

Intent of the MilStd 1540 thermal uncertainty margin is to

have 95% confidence that acceptance temperatures will
not be exceeded in the hottest and coldest flight
conditions.
Margin to be applied to realistic worst-case hot and
cold analysis cases.
No extra pad to be applied to analysis parameters.
Parameters to be stacked only if such stacking will
occur in flight, e.g., end of life optical properties with
hottest orbit beta angle and winter (highest) solar
flux.
50
 Basis for DoD Thermal Uncertainty Margin (cont.)

DoD (MilStd 1540) thermal uncertainty margin is based

upon a report written by R. Stark5 in 1971.
Compared analysis predictions to test and flight
temperature data for several spacecraft.
Found 11C (2-sigma or 95%) prediction error for
programs that used a thermal balance test to verify
analytic predictions.
Found 17C (2-sigma or 95%) prediction error for
programs that did not use a thermal balance test.
D. Gluck6 (1987) and J. Welch7 (2009) gathered data
for 9 additional missions and found similar prediction
uncertainty.
51
 Thermal Uncertainty Margin for Cryogenic Equipment

For cryogenic systems, margins are often applied as a

percentage of the design heat load and decrease as the
design matures. (1)

Program Flight
Milestone Go- PDR CDR Qualification Acceptance
Ahead

Power Margin (%) 50 45 35 30 25

52
Thermal Uncertainty Margin for Cryogenic Equipment
(cont.)

As the temperature drops toward absolute zero, each

degree represents an increasingly large percentage of the
thermal balance, so margins expressed in degrees are
reduced. (1)
Thermal uncertainty margin (K)

Predicted temperature (K) Pre-validation Post-validation

Above 203 17 11
203 to 186 16 10
185 to 168 15 9
167 to 150 14 8
149 to 132 13 7
131 to 114 11 6
113 to 96 9 5
95 to 78 8 4
77 to 60 6 3
59 to 42 4 2
41 to 23 2 1
below 23 1 1
53
 Margin The Big Picture*
The figure depicts an integrated picture of JPLs margin.
The goal is to keep all piece parts in limits with reasonable unit AFT range.
Other organizations follow similar margin processes.

*Courtesy of Jeffery Nunes, JPL 54

 Concluding Remarks for Part 1

Thermal testing helps ensure a successful mission by

increasing confidence in the design and workmanship.
Temperature cycling screens for workmanship defects.
Functional testing demonstrates hardware operates within
specifications in a flight-like environment.
Thermal balance test validates thermal math models.
Margin is applied to predicted flight temperatures to
account for uncertainties and ensure robust design.

55
Conclusion of Part 1

56