Air Force space power technology development at the Phillips research site
Technology development in the areas of high efficiency, light-weight, compact, reliable and cost-effective space power components are needed to support the development of next-generation military and commercial satellites. In order to meet the demand for increased satellite payload mass and power, and reduce launch vehicle size and cost, an increasing amount of attention is being given to the satellite electric power system (EPS) performance in terms of specific power (W/kg), size, stowed volume, and cost. The EPS is responsible for providing uninterrupted, fault-tolerant electrical power to satellite payload and housekeeping equipment throughout the lifetime of the mission. Today's smallsats and conventional largesats vary in power level and mass from about 1000 watts and 225 kg or less, up to as much as 15 kW and >5,000 kg, respectively. In the case of smallsats, recent trends in shrinking space budgets have pushed mission planners towards the use of cheaper smallsat designs capable of launch on smaller, cheaper, and more easily deployed vehicles. The US intelligence community recently evaluated requirements for future surveillance missions and acknowledged the advantages of lower cost smallsats to address tomorrow's warfighter needs, which include increased flexibility, improved performance, and the ability to launch them easily when needed. In contrast to smallsat applications, mission planners have also acknowledged the need for significantly larger 30-100 kW monstersats to enable next-generation communications, radar, and weapons platform functions. In order to meet projected smallsat and monstersat design requirements, revolutionary advancements in EPS component technology are required over today's conventional technologies. The goal is to increase total EPS specific power through advancements in component technology to reduce EPS mass from 20-30% of total satellite mass to approximately 10%. A complement of on-going EPS technology development programs at the Air Force Research Laboratory (AFRL) have the potential to increase EPS specific power to 10 W/kg by FY2000 and 13 W/kg by FY2005. Examples of these technologies include multijunction solar cells with up to 1/3 higher efficiency of state-of-the-art (SOA) GaAs and GaInP2/GaAs/Ge cells, energy storage batteries and flywheels with three times the energy density of SOA batteries, high efficiency power electronics that reduce thermal control loads, and a solar thermal system with integrated (non-photovoltaic) energy generation and (non-electrochemical) energy storage.
- Research Organization:
- Air Force Research Lab., Kirtland AFB, NM (US)
- OSTI ID:
- 20000328
- Resource Relation:
- Conference: 33rd Intersociety Energy Conversion Engineering Conference, Colorado Springs, CO (US), 08/02/1998--08/06/1998; Other Information: 1 CD-ROM. Operating system required: Windows 3.x; Windows95/NT; Macintosh; UNIX. All systems need 2X CD-ROM drive., PBD: 1998; Related Information: In: Proceedings of the 33. intersociety energy conversion engineering conference, by Anghaie, S. [ed.], [2800] pages.
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
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