Design of Small Impact-Resistant RTGs for Global Network of Unmanned Mars Landers

Technical Report · Tue Oct 01 00:00:00 EDT 1991

DOI:https://doi.org/10.2172/1033350· OSTI ID:1033350

Schock, Alfred

Presented at the 42nd Congress of the IAF, October 5-11, 1991 in Montreal, Canada. This paper presents the results of Fairchild's work in support of DOE to perform RTG design studies for this mission. The key problem in designing these RTGs is how to enable the generators to tolerate substantially higher g-loads than those encountered on previous RTG missions. The Fairchild studies resulted in designs of compact RTGs based on flight-proven and safety-qualified heat source components, with a number of novel features designed to provide the desired high impact tolerance. The present paper describes those designs and their rationale, and a preliminary, quasi-static impact analysis that yielded very encouraging results. They indicate that these RTGs have sufficient impact resistance to enable survival of landers without retrorockets. This would result in significant cost savings. There are four copies in the file. Two copies of a presentation with the same title by Al Schock dated June 26/27, 1991 is attached. There are two copies of a Fairchild document, undated included. There is also two copies dated 6/26/1991 with the report number FSC-ESD-217-91-495 and one copy of a ducument, dated 7/11/191 with the report number FSC-ESD-217-91-495A. There are four copies with the same title in the file, but undated. These copies have a different Abstract and are similar, but not the exact version as the other copies.

• Research Organization: Fairchild Space and Defense Corporation
• Sponsoring Organization: NE Office of Space and Defense Power Systems
• OSTI ID: 1033350
• Report Number(s): IAF-91-237; Orbital ID: 7139; Call Number: 30-02
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

NESDPS Office of Nuclear Energy Space and Defense Power Systems
RTG
Impact-Resistant