The space environment affects the survivability , reliability , performance and cost of a space structure . Most of the satellite problems that occur in the orbit are due to the effects of the space environment . The thermal environment varies significantly in terms of position , altitude , thermal dissipation and operating modes . Thus the thermal environment effect of the satellite structure should be considered from the beginning of build up to the end of mission .Present investigation study the thermal effect on the structures , based on the thermal-elasticity theory . The finite element method is employed to calculate the temperature distribution , and the thermal stresses due to the non-uniform temperature distribution in the structure .