Prediction and on-orbit calculation of temperatures for thermal radiators of the Midcourse Space Experiment's quartz crystal microbalances

Four temperature-controlled quartz crystal microbalance (QCM) instruments are on the Midcourse Space Experiment (MSX) spacecraft to measure the accretion of contaminants and to identify the contaminant species using the thermogravimetric analysis technique. Calibration data were used to derive equations for the performance of the thermoelectric temperature controllers in the MSX QCM sensors. The equations relate input power and the crystal temperature to the base temperature. The MSX thermal model with the QCM locations was used to predict the operating temperature of each of the radiators. On orbit, the equations can be used to calculate the QCM radiator temperature from the crystal temperature and the input power.