Summary report is described of historical documentation and detailed design data for development of silver-zinc battery for use on Surveyor spacecraft. Electrical and physical characteristics of battery models are included, along with data on qualification, acceptance, solar-thermal-vacuum, mission simulation testing, and actual flight performance

Moses, A. J.

Uchiyama, A. A.

English

NASA Technical Reports Server

December 1970	 Brief 70-10718 
NASA TECH BRIEF H 
NASA Tech Briefs announce new technology derived from the U.S. space program. They are issued to encourage commercial 
application. Tech Briefs are available on a subscription basis from the National Technical Information Service, Springfield, 
Virginia 22151. Requests for individual copies or questions relating to the Tech Brief progam may be directed to the Tech-
nology Utilization Division, NASA, Code UT, Washington, D.C. 20546. 
Development of a Silver-Zinc Battery System 
A summary report gives both historical documenta-
tion and detailed design data from the project that 
developed a successful silver-zinc battery for use on the 
Surveyor spacecraft. The development of the battery, 
from a sealed single cell to a manifold design, is 
described in chronological order. The most significant 
data are presented in order to allow the reader to fol-
low the design decisions, and to provide a basis against 
which future battery designs can be evaluated. 
Electrical power for the seven Surveyor spacecraft 
was provided by a planar solar panel and a sealed 
silver-zinc battery. The battery provided energy during 
flight, touchdown, and the lunar night. Unique 
features of this limited-cycle-life silver-zinc battery 
include high energy density (80 W-h/lb), hermetically 
sealed design, a common gas manifold, and a pres-
sure transducer for permitting automatic charge ter-
mination. 
The battery design evolved through four distinct 
phases: (1) experiment, (2) development, (3) prOto-
type, and (4) flight. The evolution of the final design, 
the test data relating to each model, and the logic lead-
ing to the adoption of design improvements are 
described. The electrical and physical characteristics 
of each battery model are included, along with data on
qualification, acceptance, solar-thermal-vacuum, and 
mission-simulation testing, and actual flight. Thermal 
and calorimetric measurements are presented in con-
junction with the lunar night survival data. 
Note: 
The following documentation may be obtained 
from:
National Technical Information Service 
Springfield, Virginia 22151 
Single document price $3.00 
(or microfiche $0.65) 
Reference: 
NASA-CR 108207 (N70-19319), Surveyor Bat-
teries 
Patent status: 
No patent action is contemplated by NASA. 
Source: A. J. Moses et al., of 
Hughes Aircraft Company 
A. A. Uchiyama et al., of 
Caltech/JPL 
both under contract to 
NASA Pasadena Office 
(N PO- 1 1444) 
Category 02 
This document was prepared under the sponsorship of the National 
Aeronautics and Space Administration. Neither the United States 
Government nor any person acting on behalf of the United States
Government assumes any liability resulting from the use of the 
information contained in this document, or warrants that such use 
will be free from privately ownedrights.
https://ntrs.nasa.gov/search.jsp?R=19700000687 2020-03-17T01:07:02+00:00Z


Development of a silver-zinc battery system

Abstract

Similar works

Full text

Available Versions

NASA Technical Reports Server