Patent ID: 11926442
Assignee: BALL AEROSPACE & TECHNOLOGIES CORP.
Field: Transport (Mechanical engineering)
Classification: CPC B | IPC B

Claim 18:
19. A spacecraft system, comprising:
a spacecraft bus;
an instrument;
an instrument attitude controller, wherein the instrument attitude controller is operable to point the instrument towards a volume of interest;
a sunshade; and
one of a sunshade actuator assembly and a sunshade attitude controller, wherein the one of a sunshade actuator assembly and a sunshade attitude controller is operable to position the sunshade to at least partially shade the instrument from the sun, wherein the sunshade is configured to radiate energy absorbed from the sun as heat that is supplied to the instrument, wherein the one of a sunshade actuator assembly and a sunshade attitude controller is further operable to vary a proximity of the sunshade to the instrument to maintain the instrument within a range of instrument operating temperatures, wherein the proximity of the sunshade to the instrument is decreased to provide increased radiational heating of the instrument, and wherein the proximity of the sunshade to the instrument is increased to provide decreased radiational heating of the instrument.