Fundamentals of Spacecraft Thermal Design

This volume represents one of a sequence of publications under different formats covering the field of thermophysics for over a decade. The total content of subject matter, dealing with many physical processes of heat exchange and with techniques for heat flow control, ranges all the way from the basic concepts and simple design principles incorporated in the earliest spacecraft of a decade ago to the highly developed concepts employed in the designs of manned spacecraft and in multiply launched unmanned spacecraft of today. The first volume of the thermophysics sequence in the format of this Series, No.18 (1966), was preceded by two NASA Special Publications and by a number of other documents (see bibliography at the end).

Each volume represents the status of the field of thermophysics at the time of its publication. The sequence of volumes permits analysis of the evolution of the entire field of thermophysics technology and of the separate scientific disciplines which comprise the field.