ABSTRACT
The Dawn mission was one of NASA’s most successful missions for the understanding of our solar system. It became the first spacecraft to visit and orbit two different targets and did so with the use of innovative electric propulsion that used a voltage potential obtained from its immense solar panels to accelerate xenon gas at fantastic speeds, making it by the end of its mission the second fastest spacecraft ever created by humans, second only to the Voyager spacecraft. The thermal control system and its operation are discussed in detail, including the system’s use of louvers, heat pipes, MLI, heaters, and radiator with ocular spectral reflector (OSR) coatings. Common thermal operation issues and how they were mitigated are described.
