Sodium sulfur battery cell space flight experiment
- Naval Research Lab., Washington, DC (United States). Naval Center for Space Technology
A Sodium Sulfur (NaS) battery cell for space applications has been in development, with Air Force sponsorship, since the early 1980`s. At 100 Wh/kg, NaS batteries have twice the energy density of advanced nickel hydrogen (NiH{sub 2}) battery designs. Yet, the NaS battery cell is radically different from either nickel cadmium (NiCd) or NiH{sub 2} battery cells in two ways. First, NaS cells have a solid ceramic versus a liquid aqueous electrolyte. Second, NaS operates at 350 C versus 20 C for NiH{sub 2} and NiCd. How this unique battery cell operates in the zero-g environment of space is the purpose of the flight experiment described herein. The US Air Force Phillips Lab has tasked the US Naval Research Laboratory (NRL) to design, fabricate and integrate a NaS battery cell flight experiment. The experiment will fly with the Wake Shield Facility Cross Bay Carrier on a NASA Space Shuttle launch in November 1996. The experiment will heat-up, cool-down and operate four series connected NaS cells through three different charge/discharge profiles. After the experiment is complete, the NaS battery cells will be returned to the PL for destructive physical analysis. This paper will describe the NRL experiment implementation and design.
- OSTI ID:
- 187010
- Report Number(s):
- CONF-950729-; TRN: IM9609%%302
- Resource Relation:
- Conference: 30. intersociety energy conversion engineering conference, Orlando, FL (United States), 30 Jul - 5 Aug 1995; Other Information: PBD: 1995; Related Information: Is Part Of Proceedings of the 30. intersociety energy conversion engineering conference. Volume 1: Aerospace power; Goswami, D.Y. [ed.] [Univ. of Florida, Gainesville, FL (United States)]; Kannberg, L.D.; Somasundaram, S. [eds.] [Pacific Northwest Lab., Richland, WA (United States)]; Mancini, T.R. [ed.] [Sandia National Labs., Albuquerque, NM (United States)]; PB: 798 p.
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
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