针对空间热开关在深空探测器热控制、空间制冷机等航天器热控制领域中的重要应用, 本文综合评述了空间热开关的概念、分类情况、结构组成、关键指标、以及不同种类空间热开关的优缺点。介绍了近年来国内外空间热开关的最新研究成果和进展。对目前已报道的研究工作进行了总结, 指出了今后研究工作的几个重点方向。作者认为: 考虑空间热开关的不同工作环境和导热需求以及空间探测领域的不断扩展, 高开关比、高可靠性的高性能空间热开关将是未来的研制重点。另外, 与空间热开关相关的部件和制造工艺也会受到进一步关注, 如各种新型驱动器的研制, 新的热控涂层和处理工艺以及相关元件的精密加工与装配技术等。

Space Heat Switches (SHSs) have wider and important applications in thermal control fields of deep space detectors, space coolers and some spacecrafts. This paper overviews heat transfer mechanisms of SHSs and their structures, key techniques and the advantages and disadvantages of every kind SHSs. Then it reports research progress of the SHSs in recent years, summarizes existing researching work and points out the developing directions of the SHSs. Finally, the authors suggest that those SHSs with high switch ratios and high reliability will be the research emphasis in future because they work at different conditions and require different thermal conductivities, also because the field of space exploration has been extended continuously. Moreover, some component manufacturing and material preparing technologies related to the SHSs will receive much attention, such as the development of new type of drivers, new thermal control coatings and their treatment processes as well as the precision machining and assembly technologies of components.