A prototype heat pump was designed and tested, as means of active thermal management for electronics packages to be used on stratospheric balloon missions. The evaporator worked as a cold plate to absorb heat dissipated by the electronics, while the condenser rejected heat primarily by radiation to the rarified environment. To predict the transient performance of the heat pump under varying environmental temperature and cooling load conditions, a dynamic model of the heat pump is created with a graphical user interface (GUI). The simulation of the evaporator and condenser are fully transient and the components are segmented, whereas the compressor and expansion device are lumped models and assumed to be at quasi-steady state. A detailed model for the mass and energy conservation in the two heat exchangers is presented. The spatial and temporal variation of temperature and mass flow rate in the heat exchangers are predicted. Several types of transient conditions such as step changes of the space temperature and cooling load, system start-up, shutdown, and cycling, are studied. The space temperature, cooling load, compressor power, mass flow rates of the compressor and expansion device, pressures and refrigerant charges of the condenser and evaporator, and temperature distribution in the heat exchangers are dynamically displayed on the GUL The simulation results are compared with experimental data for step changes in the cooling load and show good agreement in terms of trends. Copyright (C) 2002 John Wiley Sons, Ltd.