Mariner Mars 1971 battery design, test, and flight performance

Technical Report · Sun Apr 15 04:00:00 EST 1973

OSTI ID:7212645

Bogner, R S

The design, integration, fabrication, test results, and flight performance of the battery system for the Mariner Mars spacecraft launched in May 1971 are presented. The battery consists of 26 20-Ah hermetically sealed nickel--cadmium cells housed in a machined magnesium chassis. The battery package weighs 29.5 kg, and is unique in that the chassis also serves as part of the spacecraft structure. Active thermal control is accomplished by louvers mounted to the battery baseplate. Battery charge is accomplished by C/10 and C/30 constant current chargers. The switch from the high-rate to low-rate charge is automatic, based on terminal voltage. Additional control is possible by ground command or on-board computer. The performance data from the flight battery are compared with the data from various battery tests in the laboratory. Flight battery data were predictable on the basis of ground test data.

• Research Organization: Cincinnati Univ., Ohio (USA)
• OSTI ID: 7212645
• Report Number(s): N-73-25095; NASA-CR-132986; JPL-TM-33-591
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

25 ENERGY STORAGE
250901* -- Energy Storage-- Batteries-- Design & Development
250902 -- Energy Storage-- Batteries-- Performance & Testing
BATTERY CHARGING
DESIGN
ELECTRIC BATTERIES
ELECTROCHEMICAL CELLS
ENERGY STORAGE SYSTEMS
FABRICATION
MARINER SPACE PROBES
METAL-METAL OXIDE BATTERIES
NICKEL-CADMIUM BATTERIES
PERFORMANCE
SPACE VEHICLES
TESTING