Multimegawatt power sources for commercial space operations
There is a great deal of interest in commercial operation in space today, but very little consideration of where the power to run such an operation is to come from. For any commercial operation in space, the power source, especially those involving kilowatts and megawatts of power, must be considered at the very onset of the venture. The Multimegawatt Space Reactor Program at the Idaho National Engineering Laboratory is working this problem in conjunction with the development of Strategic Defense Initiative needs. The same type of up-front power development program needs to be considered in all discussions associated with commercial development in space. A system developed for a commercial operation in space will most likely be a hybrid system utilizing both electrical and thermal energy. Even if the commercial process consists totally of high power thermal energy usage, there will be a certain amount of electricity required for controls, mass transport, environmental control (if manned), and communications. The optimum system will thus require a great deal of planning and coordination with the development of the commercial process. 2 refs., 4 figs.
- Research Organization:
- EG and G Idaho, Inc., Idaho Falls (USA)
- DOE Contract Number:
- AC07-76ID01570
- OSTI ID:
- 7131761
- Report Number(s):
- EGG-M-88088; CONF-8804176-1; ON: DE88015119
- Resource Relation:
- Conference: 25. space congress, Cocoa Beach, FL, USA, 26 Apr 1988; Other Information: Portions of this document are illegible in microfiche products
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
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Related Subjects
14 SOLAR ENERGY
SPACECRAFT POWER SUPPLIES
COMPARATIVE EVALUATIONS
PLANNING
RECOMMENDATIONS
EFFICIENCY
POWER GENERATION
SIZE
SOLAR POWER PLANTS
SOLAR PROCESS HEAT
SPACE POWER REACTORS
SPACE VEHICLES
WEIGHT
ELECTRONIC EQUIPMENT
ENERGY
EQUIPMENT
HEAT
MOBILE REACTORS
POWER PLANTS
POWER REACTORS
POWER SUPPLIES
PROCESS HEAT
REACTORS
VEHICLES
NESDPS Office of Nuclear Energy Space and Defense Power Systems
210600* - Power Reactors
Auxiliary
Mobile Package
& Transportable
140600 - Solar Energy- Photovoltaic Power Systems
140700 - Solar Thermal Power Systems