Over the past year, Texas A&M has been buzzing about the new partnership with Aegis Aerospace that will allow Aggies to fly engineering and science experiments on the International Space Station with launch, return, and engineering support expenses all provided for. Last week it was announced that an experiment proposed by Dr. Hartl and MAESTRO, in collaboration with a team of senior Aerospace Engineering students, has been chosen for the inaugural mission.
Texas A&M’s new “satellite campus” in space
The shape memory alloy (SMA)-driven radiator technology that MAESTRO researchers have been developing for years (and for which a patent has been issued) has previously only been tested to technology readiness level (TRL) 6 at NASA-Johnson Space Center. This new opportunity will allow a scaled-down version of the rotating panel concept to be tested in Low Earth Orbit (LEO) with a full view to deep space. The experiment will advance the TRL of the self-adapting radiator design while the acquisition of on-orbit data will allow our researchers to validate their models of the full thermal system in a space setting.
Flight-ready hardware is due to Aegis in September of 2026 with lift-off scheduled for Spring 2027. The experiment will spend six months gathering valuable data and demonstrating the advantages of this new technology.
Preliminary CAD layout of the self-adapting space radiator that adjusts its angle and its heat rejection as the shape memory alloy torque tube responds to changes in system temperature.