Design Scheme and Verification of the Thermal Control System for Balloon-borne Coronagraph in Near Space

The optical system of the balloon-borne coronagraph typically adopts a small focal ratio design, leading to a slender tube structure that is highly sensitive to fluctuations in ambient temperature. To ensure stable operation under the low-temperature and low-pressure conditions of near-space, this study developed a high-precision thermal control system. The system comprises 12 sets of independently regulated temperature control units, utilizing thermistors as sensors, along with thin-film heaters and a PID control algorithm, to accurately maintain the mirror tube temperature within –5±3℃. By exploiting the differential thermal contraction properties between aluminum alloy and optical materials, the system effectively eliminates structural gaps and mitigates thermal deformation, while an active focusing mechanism compensates for focal shift caused by temperature variations. Through systematic analysis of the structural characteristics of the coronagraph and its operating environment, a heat transfer model specific to near-space conditions was established, identifying the key factors influencing the system temperature, and then a thermal control scheme combining multi-layer insulation and active heating was proposed. On 4 October 2022, a successful flight experiment was conducted in Da Qaidam, Qinghai Province, where the system operated at an altitude of 30 km, acquiring valuable observational data. The recovered data indicates that the temperature control system operates stably, with the temperature fluctuation of the coronagraph tube controlled within the design range. This effectively ensures the normal of the coronagraph in extreme environments, and provides an important technical reference for future similar missions.