Abstract. Phase change materials (PCMs) are energy storage materials which can be used for maintaining a controlled thermal environment for various applications in earth and space. PCMs are used in advanced technologies in aerospace cooling applications like heat exchangers and heat pipes for re-entry vehicles and spacecraft. Paraffin is a phase change material (PCM) commonly used for energy storage-related applications. Paraffin wax exhibits slow thermal response due to low thermal conductivity value (~0.2 W/m K for most paraffin waxes). In the present work, an attempt is made to fabricate a composite PCM using graphite powder. Such a composite material has enhanced thermal conductivity along with reduced melting period which are desirable properties of a PCM during solid to liquid phase change process. The reduction in melting period is indicated by the difference in change in temperature measured by the thermocouples during a specified time. The temperature variation and solid-liquid interface formation during the melting process are experimentally studied. The results showed that composite graphite powder with paraffin can improve the total phase transition time.