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Temperature SystemHow is DS1's heat balance maintained? |
Some spacecraft rely on liquids or gasses to help their systems run properly. DS1 uses hydrazine as the fuel in the control thrusters. Hydrazine has a freezing point of 2ºC (275K). This means that if the temperature of the spacecraft drops below 2ºC then the fuel used in the control systems would freeze and make the spacecraft unable to turn, which would soon render it unable to send or receive signals when it got out of alignment with Earth.
DS1 also contains many electronic components. Most electronic components will work only within a narrow range of temperatures, usually -50ºC to + 150ºC. The computers and other electronic components will stop working and make the spacecraft useless if the spacecraft temperatures become too extreme.
What could go wrong on DS1 if there's too much heat?
