The current research and technology (R and T) base program is first described, then special attention is directed toward outlining a new system technology specifically oriented toward providing the utility power plant technology base for semi-permanent earth orbital facilities expected to be needed in the middle to late 1980's. The R and T program involves five areas of research: (1) photovoltaic energy conversion; (2) chemical energy conversion and storage; (3) thermal-to-electric conversion; (4) environment interactions; and (5) power systems management and distribution. The general objectives and planned direction of efforts in each of these areas is summarized

Mullin, J. P.

English

NASA Technical Reports Server

OAST SPACE POWER TECHNOLOGY PROGRAM 
Jerome P. Mullin 
NASA Headquarters 
The NASA Space Power Technology Program i s  aimed a t  providing 
a sound technologica l  b a s i s  f o r  f u t u r e  space e l e c t r i c a l  power 
systems. While f u t u r e  needs f o r  e l e c t r i c a l  energy i n  space cannot 
be known w i t h  c e r t a i n t y ,  an ana lys i s  of programmatic t r ends  and 
oppor tun i t i e s  now under study i d e n t i f y  two classes of need. The 
f i r s t  i s  f o r  very high performance systems t o  support  electric 
propulsion and ambitious geosynchronous missions. The second is 
f o r  very high power levels a t  low c o s t  t o  support  t h e  Shut t le -  
based h a b i t a t i o n  and use of near-Earth space. In  t h i s  paper t h e  
cu r ren t  R&T base program i s  f i r s t  descr ibed,  then s p e c i a l  a t ten-  
t i o n  i s  d i r e c t e d  toward o u t l i n i n g  a new system technology i n i t i a -  
t i v e  s p e c i f i c a l l y  Qr i en ted  toward providing t h e  u t i l i t y  power 
p l a n t  technology base f o r  semi-permanent Earth o r b i t a l  f a c i l i t i e s  
expected t o  be needed i n  the  middle t o  l a t e  1980's. 
The R&T base program involves  f i v e  areas of research: Photo- 
v o l t a i c  Energy Conversion, Chemical Energy Conversion and Storage, 
Thermal-to-Electric Conversion, Environmental I n t e r a c t i o n s ,  and 
Power Systems Management and Di s t r ibu t ion .  The general  ob jec t ives  
and planned d i r e c t i o n  of effor ts  i n  each of t hese  a reas  i s  sum- 
marized below and i n  Figures 1 through 15. 
I n  t h e  a rea  of Photovol ta ic  Energy Conversion, t h e  a i m  i s  t o  
improve conversion e f f i c i e n c y ,  reduce m a s s ,  reduce c o s t ,  and in -  
crease opera t ing  l i f e  of photovol ta ic  converters  and ar rays .  
Emphasis i s  being placed on very e f f i c i e n t  t h i n  s o l a r  cells, l i g h t -  
weight b lankets ,  r a d i a t i o n  r e s i s t a n c e ,  low cost and advanced cells, 
and both p lanar  and concent ra tor  a r r ay  designs.  
In  Chemical Energy Conversion and Storage,  t h e  ob jec t ive  i s  t o  
achieve improved energy dens i ty ,  l i f e ,  ope ra t iona l  capab i l i t y ,  and 
c o s t  of space b a t t e r y  and f u e l  ce l l  systems. Research i s  being 
done t o  inc rease  energy dens i ty  and l i f e  of n i c k e l  cadmium bat- 
teries and t o  inc rease  t h e i r  capaci ty:  t o  achieve high energy 
dens i ty  probe and lander  batteries;  and t o  eva lua te  new e l ec t ro -  
chemical concepts f o r  very high energy dens i ty .  In  addi t ion ,  
e f f o r t  i s  being i n i t i a t e d  t o  evolve t h e  f u e l  ce l l - e l ec t ro lyze r  
concept f o r  high capac i ty  low-Earth-orbit energy s to rage  appl ica-  
t i ons .  
https://ntrs.nasa.gov/search.jsp?R=19790001952 2020-03-22T02:26:42+00:00Z
Thermal-to-Electric Conversion e f f o r t s  a i m  a t  technologies  
which can be used w i t h  e i t h e r  nuclear  o r  s o l a r  h e a t  sources  and 
focus on achieving acceptable  e f f i c i e n c i e s  i n  thermoelec t r ic  and 
thermionic conver te rs  and on eva lua t ing  Brayton systems f o r  low 
and high power appl ica t ion .  I n  add i t ion ,  some work on a n c i l l a r y  
equipment necessary f o r  system f e a s i b i l i t y  i s  carried ou t .  
Research is  a l s o  undertaken t o  in su re  t h a t  f u t u r e  power sys- 
t e m s  can adequately cope w i t h  t h e  space environment. T h i s  work 
includes both ground and f l i g h t  e f f o r t s  on spacec ra f t  charging and 
on high vol tage  - space plasma i n t e r a c t i o n s .  
F ina l ly ,  work aimed a t  providing t h e  power system management 
and d i s t r i b u t i o n  b a s i s  of f u t u r e  systems i s  undertaken. T h i s  ef- 
f o r t  inc ludes  b a s i c  high power component, c i r c u i t  and subsystem 
research, automated management and ground and f l i g h t  systems 
inves t iga t ions .  
It is  concluded t h a t  execut ion of t h i s  R&T base program w i l l  
i nc rease  the  range of f u t u r e  mission oppor tun i t i e s  t h a t  can be 
accommodated a t  acceptable  levels of cost and r i s k .  However, t h e  
press ing  near  t e r m  high power needs f o r  Earth o r b i t a l  systems are 
very g r e a t ,  and the impact of  t h i s  R&T base program on t h e m  a t  
p re sen t  resource l e v e l s  w i l l  necessa r i ly  be l i m i t e d  t o  a f e w  key 
technologies ,  Expansion of technology e f f o r t  i n  t h i s  area can be 
accommodated only by reducing e f f o r t s  aimed a t  high performance 
and longer  term space power needs or  by seeking a focused augmen- 
t a t i o n  of resources .  
A s p e c i f i c  i n i t i a t i v e  aimed a t  t h i s  class of needs i s  out- 
l i n e d  i n  Figures 16  through 29 and i s  presented f o r  planning pur- 
poses only i n  an e f f o r t  t o  i l l u s t r a t e  t h e  type of technology pre- 
pa ra t ion  t h a t  i s  viewed as being reasonably cons i s t en t  w i t h  
o r b i t a l  energy needs of t h e  nea r  fu tu re .  The need f o r  t h i s  i n i t i a -  
t ive  stems from the p ro jec t ed  growth i n  space energy demand and 
his tor ical  evidence suggest ing t h a t  p a s t  experience has been both 
l i m i t e d  i n  q u a n t i t y  and c o s t l y ,  The technology i n i t i a t i v e  i s  pre-  
sented i n  two phases. The first t r e a t s  s o l a r  power generat ion,  
bulk energy s t o r a g e ,  and power management and d i s t r i b u t i o n .  T h e  
second phase deals w i t h  thermal management and w i t h  space t o  space 
transmission of power. 
The expected r e t u r n  from t h e  type o f  technology program out- 
l i n e d  here  i s  t h e  provis ion of enabl ing technology for a class of 
space powerplants i n  t h e  multi-hundred k i l o w a t t  power range. W e  , 
can expect t o  see dramatic reduct ions over pro jec ted  c a p i t a l  and 
opera t ing  c o s t s  and begin t o  see new opera t ing  concepts involving 
ma in ta inab i l i t y ,  automation, t h e  remote t ransmission of space power 
and t h e  beginnings of t r u l y  i n t e g r a t e d  systems operat ion i n  space. 
2 
Figure 1. 
CURRENT POWER PROGRAM 
PHOTOVOLTAIC ENERGY CONVERSION 
e SOLAR CELLS 
0 LOW COST BLANKETS & ARRAYS 
0 LIGHT WEIGHT BLANKETS & ARRAYS 
CHEMICAL ENERGY CONVERSION & 
STORAGE 
0 NiCd BATTERY 
0 ADVANCED BATTERIES 
e HIGH CAPACITY ENERGY STORAGE 
THERMAL TO ELECTRIC CONVERSION 
0 THERMIONICS & THERMOELECTRICS 
BRAYTON 
e THERMAL-TO-ELECTRIC POWER SYSTEMS 
TECHNOLOGY 
ENVIRONMENTAL INTERACTIONS 
0 HIGH VOLTABElSPACE PLASMA 
0 SPACECRAFT mARGlNG 
POWER MANAGEMENT & DISTRIBUTION 
e HIGH POWER CdMPONENTS 
0 CIRCUITS & SUBSYSTEMS 
e AUTOMATED POWER SYSTEMS MGMT. 
e POWER SYSTEMS & REOUIREMENTS 
FLIGHT EXPERIMENTS 
0 SEPS ARRAY 
0 5 LOEF EXPERIMENTS 
0 SOLAR CELL CALIBRATION FACILITY 
Figure 2. 
3 
GALLIUM ARSENIDE 
DEMONSTRATION 
rp 1 4 -  
f 
5 12- 
G 
ij 
0 
Y 
10 
LOW COST 
SILICON CELL 
0 
NON-VACUUM 
PROCESSES 
0 
- PILOT 
BEST SiLICON 
FLIGHT CELLS 
THIN 
SILICON CELLS 
0 
LABORATORY 
QUANTITIES 
Ftgure 4. 
4 
Figure 5. 
Figure 6. 
5 
Figure 7. 
Figure 8. 
6 
Figure 9. 
THERMAL-TO-ELECTRIC ENERGY 
CONVERSION PROGRAM ELEMENTS 
0 THERMOELECTRIC ELEMENT EVALUATION 
0 BRAYTON POWER SYSTEMS 
0 HIGH TEMPERATURE THERMIONIC 
CONVERTEWHEAT PIPE 
0 HIGH TEMPERATURE MATERIALS 
0 ADVANCED CONCEPTS (e.g. * 15% 
THERMOELECTRICS & SOLAR BOILER/MHD) 
Figure IO. 
7 
TESTS CONTINUE 
TOWARD 50,OOO HR 
8 
Figure 11. 
Figure 12 
Figure 13. 
9 
Figure 15. 
LOW COST ORBITAL ENERGY SYSTEMS TECHNOLOGY 
- PROVIDE THE UTILITY POWER PLANT TECHNOLOGY BASE FOR 
SEMbPERMANENT EARTH ORBITAL FACILITIES NEEDED I N  THE 
MIDDLE TO LATE 198O.s. 
REOUCE CAPITAL 81 OPERATING COST OF SPACE ENERGY SYSTEMS 
BY l O T 0  lOOX 
REOUCE RISK BY EXTENDING SPACE ENERGY EXPERIENCE BASE 
TO lOOX LARGER SYSTEMS 
OPEN NEW OPERATiNG CONCEPTS & ACHIEVABLE ECONOMIES OF 
SCALE WITH TRANSMISSION 
REDUCE ENVIRONMENTALLY IMPOSED OPERATIONAL CONSTRAINTS 
TECHNOLOGY BASIS FOR COMBINED SYSTEMS 
OBJECTIVES: 
BENEFITS: - 
- 
- 
- 
- 
-. EClLS 
- HEAT REJECTION 
- ORBITAL PROPELLANT PRODUCTION 
APPLICABLE TO SPS 
Figure 16. 
10 
SPACE ENERGY DEMAND 
ENERGY 
Duration) IPower x Mission 
'O'l ::j 
105 
TOTAL ENERGY 
DEMAND PROJECT1 
LIFE SCIENCES 
KW-HR 
104 
AT: 0 Y U S  MAR1 ER-MARS 
* T I  0S.M 
OLLO 
*OCEAN RESOIJRCES 
PURLlC SEIIVICFS 
0 FOREST FIRE DETECTION 
0 SPACE MFG &PROCESSING i 0 PHARMACEVTICALS 
OATA SOURCES 
I AlAA SPACE SYSTEM SUMMARIES 
I NASA HISTORICAL POCKET STATlSTlCS 
* OSF AND OA STUDIES 
e AEROSPACE "AOVANCED SPACE POWER 
>50 MISSIONS ANALYZED 
REflUIREMENTS" JAN. 78 
YEAR 
Figure 17. 
LOW COST ORBITAL ENERGY SYSTEMS TECHNOLOGY 
$/kW-HR COST 
BETWEEN 1963 1977 FOR 1000 TO 15000 kW-HR 
COSTS 108-10'o DOLLARS/YEAR DATA SOURCES 
N A S A  TWI-X-68054 
N A S A  TM-X-68035 
AEROSPACE,  A D V A N C E D  SPACE POWER REOUIREMENTS 
R E P O R T  
Figure 18. 
11 
MULTI-KW ORBITAL POWER PLANT 
100 
50 
0 -  
KW SOLAR POWER PRODUCTION EXPERIENCE 
SOLAR POWER LAUNCHED 
BY NASA - 
- 200 PAST MISSIONS 
CUM U LATlVE 
- 
TRANSMISSION 
3~ : > 
YEAR 
E REMOTE 
USERS 
DATA SOURCE 
HISTORICAL ANALYSIS BY JPL 
SOLAR ARRAYS 
PLANNED MISSIONS 
POWER > 50-100KW 
PRODUCTION-INADEQUATE 
ELEMENT BASE 
LOCAL RAW POWER CENTRAL & SUBSTATION 
POWER MANAGEMENT 
Figure 19. 
LOW COST ORBITAL ENERGY SYSTEMS TECHNOLOGY 
+- USERS 
THERMAL 
MANAGEMENT 
b KW-HR BATTERY 
b MAINTAINABLE FUEL 1.CELL-ELECTROLYZER 
Figure 20. 
12 
LOW COST ORBITAL ENERGY SYSTEMS TECHNOLOGY 
SOLAR ARRAYS 
ENERGY STORAGE 
POWER MGMT 
L/"- I FLAT FOLD COST  REDUCTION^ w 
[ SYSTEM DESIGN CELLS 0 BLANKETS I 
STRUCTURE 0 ARRAY SYSTEM 0 TESTS 
[BATTERY FUEL CELL ELECTROLYZER 
I REVERSf6LE CELL ENGINEERING MODEL 
DESIGN 0 COMPONENTS 0 CRITERIA 
HlGH F'OWERNOLTAGE BREADBOARD 
Figure 2l. 
SOLAR ARRAYS 
SYSTEM LIFETIME 
NEARTERM 
FAR TERM 
REDUCE CAPITAL COST OF SEP FROM f300/W TO $ lOO/W 
REDUCE CAPITALCOSTOF BLANKETTO SlO/W 
b AUTOMATED ASSEMBLY 
b LARGE AREA CELLS 
REDUCE ENERGY COST FROM $lOOO/kW-HR TO $IOO/hW-HR 
b ERECTABLE STRUCTURES 
b O N  ORBIT MAINTENANCE 
Figure 22 
13 
BULK ENERGY STORAGE 
OBJECTIVE: REDUCE CAPITAL AND OPERATING COSfOF ENERGY 
STORAGE BY 10 TO 100 TIMES 
Y. 10 . 
POWER MANAGEMENT DISTRIBUTION AND CONTROL 
1000 
0 1  I I I I I I 
lo00 0 200 400 600 800 
VOLTAGE 
COMPONENTS - HIGH POWER SWITCH, TRANSFORMER, CAPACITOR 
CIRCUITS - HV CONVERTER 
SYSTEM - 100 kW BREADBOARD, AUTOMATION 
ENVIRONMENT - DESIGN CRITERIA FOR HV SPACE PIASMA INTERACTIONS 
Figure 24. 
14 
LOW COST ORBITAL ENERGY SYSTEMS TECHNOLOGY 
/I THERMAL MANAGEMENT I REQUIREMENTS SYSTEM DESIGN COMP TEST SYSTEM TEST 
CONCEPT EVAL SELECTIONS 
TRANSMISSION 
OBJECTIVE TECHNOLOGY 
Figure 25. 
THERMAL MANAGEMENT 
TO ENABLE A SYSTEMS APPROACH TO THERMAL MANAGEMENT 
~~~ ~ ~~ 
ACQUISITION (Equipment Cooling) 
b HIGH DENSITY COLD PLATE 
b ADVANCED INTEGRATION TECHNIQUES 
TRANSPORT (Circulating Systems & Heat Pipes) 
b HIGH CAPACITY HEAT PIPES 
b THERMAL UMBILICAL 
DISSIPATION (Radiators & Coatings) 
b STABLE LOW a/€ COATINGS 
b ERECTABLE RADIATOR MODULE 
b MAINTENANCE METHODS 
Figure 26. 
15 
POWER TRANSMISSION 
OBJECTIVE: DEMONSTRATE FEASIBILITY OF CENTRAL POWER SOURCES FOR SPACE USE 
b TRANSMITTERIRECEIVER COMPONENT EXPERIMENTS 
b SYSTEM CONCEPTS 
b QUANTIFY COSTS & BENEFITSOF ORBIT TO ORBIT ENERGY TRANFER 
b ELIMINATE INDIVIDUAL GENERATION & STORAGE 
b ELIMINATE D R A G  81 GRAVITY GRADIENT TOROUES 
b PROVIDE MANEUVER ENERGY 
b SUBSYSTEM 8I SYSTEM DEVELOPMENT & DEMONSTRATION 
Figure 27. 
16 


OAST space power technology program

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