Light Weight Radioisotope Heater Unit (Lwrhu) Production for the Galileo Mission

Technical Report · Thu Feb 16 00:00:00 EST 1989

DOI:https://doi.org/10.2172/1095845· OSTI ID:1095845

Rinehart, Gary H. ^[1]

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1. Los Alamos National Laboratory (LANL), Los Alamos, NM (United States)

The Light Weight Radioisotope Heater Unit (LWRHU) is a ²³⁸Pu0₂-fueled heat source designed to provide a thermal watt of power for space missions. The LWRHU will be used to maintain the temperature of various components on the spacecraft at the required level. The heat source consists of a ²³⁸pu0₂ fuel pellet, a Pt-30Rh capsule, a pyrolytic graphite insulator, and a woven graphite aeroshell assembly. Los Alamos has fabricated 134 heater units which will be used on the Galileo mission.

• Research Organization: Los Alamos National Laboratory (LANL), Los Alamos, NM (United States)
• Sponsoring Organization: USDOE; USDOE National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA), Nuclear Criticality Safety Program (NCSP)
• DOE Contract Number: AC52-06NA25396
• OSTI ID: 1095845
• Report Number(s): LA-UR--89-0577
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

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NESDPS Office of Nuclear Energy Space and Defense Power Systems
Nuclear Criticality Safety Program (NCSP)