Radioisotope thermophotovoltaic system design and its application to an illustrative space mission
- Fairchild Space and Defense Corporation, Germantown, Maryland 20874 (United States)
The paper describes the results of a DOE-sponsored design study of a radioisotope thermophotovoltaic generator (RTPV), to complement similar studies of Radioisotope Thermoelectric Generators (RTGs) and Stirling Generators (RSGs) previously published by the author. Instead of conducting a generic study, it was decided to focus the design effort by directing it at a specific illustrative space mission, Pluto Fast Flyby (PFF). That mission, under study by JPL, envisages a direct eight-year flight to Pluto (the only unexplored planet in the solar system), followed by comprehensive mapping, surface composition, and atmospheric structure measurements during a brief flyby of the planet and its moon Charon, and transmission of the recorded science data to Earth during a post-encounter cruise lasting up to one year. Because of Pluto`s long distance from the sun (30--50 A.U.) and the mission`s large energy demand, JPL has baselined the use of a radioisotope power system for the PFF spacecraft. TRGs have been tentatively selected, because they have been successfully flown on many space missions, and have demonstrated exceptional reliability and durability. The only reason for exploring the applicability of the far less mature RTPV systems is their potential for much higher conversion efficiencies, which would greatly reduce the mass and cost of the required radioisotope heat source. Those attributes are particularly important for the PFF mission, which---like all NASA missions under current consideration---is severely mass- and cost-limited. The paper describes the design of the radioisotope heat source, the thermophotovoltaic converter, and the heat rejection system; and depicts its integration with the PFF spacecraft.
- DOE Contract Number:
- AC01-94NE32172
- OSTI ID:
- 60911
- Report Number(s):
- CONF-940101-; ISSN 0094-243X; TRN: 96:009185
- Journal Information:
- AIP Conference Proceedings, Vol. 321, Issue 1; Conference: 11. symposium on space nuclear power systems, Albuquerque, NM (United States), 9-13 Jan 1994; Other Information: PBD: 5 Jan 1995
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
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Radioisotope Thermophotovoltaic (RTPV) Generator and Its Applicability to an Illustrative Space Mission
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Related Subjects
32 ENERGY CONSERVATION, CONSUMPTION, AND UTILIZATION
07 ISOTOPE AND RADIATION SOURCE TECHNOLOGY
30 DIRECT ENERGY CONVERSION
THERMOPHOTOVOLTAIC CONVERTERS
RADIOISOTOPE GENERATORS
POWER GENERATION
EFFICIENCY
RADIOISOTOPE HEAT SOURCES
PLUTO PLANET
NESDPS Office of Nuclear Energy Space and Defense Power Systems