Power system comparison for the Pluto Express mission
- Rockwell Aerospace, Canoga Park, CA (United States). Rocketdyne Div.
This paper presents a comparison of three advanced radioisotope power systems, along with a down sized RTG for the Pluto Express mission. These three advanced radioisotope power systems were the Radioisotope Alkali Metal Thermal--to-Electric Converter (RAMTEC), Radioisotope Stirling, and Radioisotope Thermophotovoltaic (RTPV). For the Pluto Express mission, the power requirement at the end of the 10-y mission is 74 We. It was found that all three advanced power systems could meet the required end of mission power with two General Purpose Heat Source (GPHS) modules. The RTG required six modules to meet the power requirement. Only the RAMTEC and RTPV met the mass goal of 9.5 kg. The AMTEC has a radiator area more than a factor of 10 lower than the Stirling and RTPV power systems, which simplifies spacecraft integration.
- OSTI ID:
- 187021
- Report Number(s):
- CONF-950729-; TRN: 96:007216
- Resource Relation:
- Conference: 30. intersociety energy conversion engineering conference, Orlando, FL (United States), 30 Jul - 5 Aug 1995; Other Information: PBD: 1995; Related Information: Is Part Of Proceedings of the 30. intersociety energy conversion engineering conference. Volume 1: Aerospace power; Goswami, D.Y. [ed.] [Univ. of Florida, Gainesville, FL (United States)]; Kannberg, L.D.; Somasundaram, S. [eds.] [Pacific Northwest Lab., Richland, WA (United States)]; Mancini, T.R. [ed.] [Sandia National Labs., Albuquerque, NM (United States)]; PB: 798 p.
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
Similar Records
Compatibility issues of potential payloads for the USA/9904/B(U)F-85 RTG transportation system (RTGTS) for the 'Pluto Express' mission
Compatibility issues of potential payloads for the USA/9904/B(U)F-85 RTG transportation system (RTGTS) for the {open_quotes}Pluto Express{close_quotes} mission
Related Subjects
30 DIRECT ENERGY CONVERSION
42 ENGINEERING NOT INCLUDED IN OTHER CATEGORIES
RADIOISOTOPE BATTERIES
THERMOELECTRIC GENERATORS
STIRLING ENGINES
THERMOPHOTOVOLTAIC CONVERTERS
SPACECRAFT POWER SUPPLIES
COMPARATIVE EVALUATIONS
SPACE FLIGHT
RADIOISOTOPE HEAT SOURCES
DESIGN
PERFORMANCE
NESDPS Office of Nuclear Energy Space and Defense Power Systems