Abstract
High-resolution Earth-observation satellites in low Earth orbit generate large raw data volumes that require substantial onboard computing for feature extraction, compression and filtering. Performing this work during the sunlit portion of the orbit adds heat and power load at the same time that solar arrays, sensors and transmitters are already active.
This paper describes a practical architecture that moves the heavy preprocessing entirely into the eclipse phase. Raw sensor data are buffered in non-volatile memory while the satellite is in sunlight. Once the spacecraft enters Earth’s shadow the compute cluster is powered from a dedicated lithium-iron-phosphate battery bank sized for cold, deep-cycle operation. Waste heat is conducted through high-conductivity graphite or graphene structures to deployable radiators whose surfaces are coated for high infrared emissivity. Because the radiators face deep space with no solar or albedo input, the temperature difference is large and passive radiation is efficient. The reduced data volume is then downlinked on subsequent sunlit passes. The approach lowers peak power and thermal demand on the primary bus and reduces the mass required for active cooling.
Creative Commons License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
Recommended Citation
Kotegov, Volodymyr, "Eclipse-Phase Passive Preprocessing with Graphene Thermal Structures (EPP-GTS) for Low-Earth-Orbit Sensor Satellites", Technical Disclosure Commons, (August 24, 2026)
https://www.tdcommons.org/dpubs_series/11463