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NUCLEAR Power in Space

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NUCLEAR Power in Space DOE/NE-0071 NUCLEAR Power in Space The Department of Energy produces publications to fulfill a statutory mandate to disseminate information to the public on all energy sources and energy conservation technologies. These materials are for public use and do not purport to present an exhaustive treatment of the subject matter. This is one in a series of publications on nuclear energy. TO EN FE TM N R E A R P G E Y D U N A I C T I E R D E M ST A ATESOF NUCLEAR U.S. Department of Energy ENERGY U.S. Department of Energy, Printed on recycled paper Nuclear Energy Office of Science and Technology Scientists have an intense interest in the Saturnian system—an interest beyond the planet’s vast and beautiful system of rings. Saturn’s largest and most intriguing moon, Titan, has a dense atmosphere that resembles the Earth’s early atmosphere, and some scientists suggest there may be oceans on Titan. Cassini consists of an orbiter and a probe. The probe, named Huygens after the Dutch scientist who discov- ered Titan in 1659, will descend by parachute to the surface of Titan late in 2004. It will beam data to the orbiter during descent and after landing. Once there, it will examine the surface of Titan with three dozen sensors. After releasing the Huygens probe for descent to Titan, the Cassini orbiter will explore the Saturnian system for nearly four years, flying some 60 orbits of the giant planet during that time. The electrical energy to power Cassini’s mission equipment, in- cluding all its communications and scientific sensors, will come from three RTG units that provide a total of 850 watts of power. One way the craft uses this energy is to control its data-gathering systems. For example, it can point sensors to accuracies of a 10th of a degree, maintain stability levels over 10 times slower than the motion of a clock’s hour hand, navigate to accuracies of 30 kilometers (about 20 miles), and broadcast data to Earth at rates as high as 140,000 bits per second. Future Requirements NASA has identified a number of potential missions that can best or only be undertaken using radioiso- tope power and/or heat sources. These future missions depend upon two important conditions. On the cover: Launch of the Atlantis Space Shuttle carrying Galileo into space (October 1989). 2 27 First, there must be a reliable and continuing supply of Nuclear Power in Space Pu-238 fuel from the U.S. Department of Energy. U.S. facilities that could supply Pu-238 are being consid- ered, as are foreign sources such as Russia, England, and France. Table of Contents Second, smaller and more efficient power systems will have to be developed consistent with NASA's Introduction needs. 3 Contemplating the Heavens Conclusion 4 The Pioneer Missions RTGs have made vital contributions to the U.S. space 7 program from its earliest days to the present. And The Voyager Missions they are slated for service on future projects such as 8 the 1997 Cassini mission to Saturn, Mars Pathfinder, The Ulysses Mission and Pluto Express. 8 The Galileo Mission For many missions on which RTGs were used, there 11 was no other viable option for providing power. The Missions - An Overview These missions include Apollo, Viking, Pioneer, Voy- 16 ager, Galileo, and Ulysses, which have provided sci- Power in Space - The Special Requirements entists with critical information about the origins of 18 the solar system. How Does an RTG Work? 18 Nuclear fuel has proven to be an ideal source of energy Pu-238 - The Radioisotope of Choice for RTGs in space because of its high power, acceptable weight 19 and volume, and excellent reliability and safety when RTGs - The Safety Factor used in RTGs. 21 The Future of RTGs in Space Because of its many advantages, it seems likely that 25 nuclear energy will continue to provide power on Conclusion space missions into the next century, whether in RTGs, 28 other advanced generators, or nuclear reactors. U.S. Department of Energy Office of Nuclear Energy, Science, and Technology Washington, D.C. 20585 28 1 The Cassini Mission to Saturn Introduction The Cassini mission is scheduled to begin in October In the early years of the United States space program, 1997 when a Titan IV launch vehicle lifts its payload lightweight batteries, fuel cells, and solar modules into orbit. The mission is a joint U.S.-European ven- provided electric power for space missions. As mis- ture to explore Saturn in detail, a journey that will take sions became more ambitious and complex, power nearly seven years. Like Galileo, Cassini will use needs increased and scientists investigated various gravity-assists from other planets to achieve the neces- options to meet these challenging power require- sary speed to reach Saturn. Cassini will employ four ments. One of the options was nuclear energy. flybys: two by Venus, one by Earth, and one by Jupiter, to reach its destination in deep space. By the mid-1950s, research had begun in earnest on ways to use nuclear power in space. These efforts resulted in the first radioisotope thermoelectric genera- tors (RTGs), which are nuclear power genera- Saturn Arrival tors built specifically for June 2004 Jupiter Flyby Dec. 2000 space and special ter- restrial uses. These RTGs convert the heat Launch generated from the October 1997 natural decay of their radioactive fuel into 2nd Venus Earth Flyby electricity. The low- Flyby August 1997 power devices were June 1999 designed to supplement a craft’s primary non-nuclear 1st Venus ✹ Flyby power source, but as the technology progressed, April 1998 they soon began shouldering many missions’ entire power needs. Today, RTG-powered spacecraft are exploring the outer planets of the solar system and orbiting the sun Cassini Mission. Four flybys will enable the Cassini spacecraft to and Earth. They have also landed on Mars and the reach Saturn, its destination in deep space. moon. They provide the power that enables us to see and learn about even the farthermost objects in our solar system. 26 3 Contemplating The Future of RTGs the Heavens in Space Many ancient peoples, including the Aztecs, Egyp- The Technology tians, and the builders of Stonehenge, were intensely Other nuclear generator technologies for space interested in astronomy. Their writings and architec- applications have been under investigation. These ture indicate they studied the moon’s phases and technologies involve more efficient conversion of heat movement. They related the position and the per- into electricity. Safety and reliability are key factors in ceived movement of the sun to Earth and its seasons. determining the possible value of each technology in Some charted the stars, identifying the constellations. space missions. Through the ages, scholars suggested various expla- One option is the dynamic isotope power systems nations for the makeup, movement, and relationship (DIPS), which are much more efficient in converting to Earth of these heavenly bodies. Like us today, they heat into electricity than the RTGs used on recent wanted to know more about those distant objects, but missions. The dynamic systems have moving parts a lack of technology limited their ability to learn. that transform heat into mechanical energy, which is used to generate electricity. One such engine, the Over the centuries, scientists like Galileo and Newton Stirling engine, contains helium that expands by ab- described the structure of the solar system and the sorbing heat on the hot side of the engine and rejecting movement of the planets. Inventions such as the it on the cold side. The rapidly changing pressure telescope permitted them to see the moon’s craters, the cycles cause a piston to move back and forth, driving “canals” on Mars, Saturn’s rings, and other intriguing an alternator and producing electricity. details. This knowledge increased their curiosity about the moon, sun, and planets, and they longed for more The range of technologies under investigation is wide. information. They even dreamed of expeditions across For instance, a process called Alkaline Metal Thermal space to encounter them firsthand. to Electric Conversion (AMTEC) converts infrared radiation into electricity using liquid metal ions, which are charged atoms. By contrast, the thermo-photovol- taic (TPV) converter changes infrared radiation emit- ted by a hot surface into electricity. Design goals for AMTEC and TPV technology call for even more effi- cient conversion of heat into electricity of about 20- 30%, or a three-fold increase over RTGs. The higher efficiencies of these new technologies mean that future spacecraft may require less Pu-238 than RTGs typically use. This makes these new space power technologies highly attractive due to lower weight and less radioactive material for the same power output. 4 12 25 Blast - Blast waves greater than those predicted The Century of Flight from a shuttle fuel explosion were simulated with During the 20th century, fantasies about space flight explosives; no fuel was released during the tests. progressed toward reality on the wings of the many types of aircraft that became commonplace. People Re-entry - The modules survived the high tem- from various countries contributed to the beginnings peratures of simulated atmospheric orbital decay of spacecraft propulsion. One of the most important entry, as tested in an arc-jet furnace; no fuel was was an American, Robert Goddard, who studied both released. solid and liquid propellants. In 1916 he launched a test rocket that traveled 184 feet. Two decades later, Werner Earth Impact - Impact at 120 miles per hour (ap- von Braun and his team of German scientists were proximate top speed for an aeroshell falling to developing powerful new rockets that could fly hun- Earth) on sand, water, or soil produced no release dreds of miles.
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