Heat pipe thermal control system concept for the space station.

A program was undertaken to design and evaluate a high reliability, long life thermal control system for Space Station application. The program consisted of three sequential steps including the investigation of many thermal control elements to select the most reliable. The elements are combined into several system concepts. The most desirable approach is then selected and its characteristics are determined. The result of this project is a conceptual thermal control system design that employs heat pipes as primary components, both for heat transport and variable temperature control.