Open AccessDesign and Spacecraft-Integration of RTGs for Solar Probe
Author(s) -
Alfred Schock
Publication year - 1990
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Reports
DOI - 10.2172/1033349
Subject(s) - spacecraft , thermoelectric generator , aerospace engineering , power (physics) , environmental science , solar power , electrical engineering , computer science , meteorology , remote sensing , nuclear engineering , physics , engineering , thermoelectric effect , geology , quantum mechanics , thermodynamics
Presented at the 41st Congress of the IAF, October 6-12, 1990 in Dresden, FRG. The paper describes the design and analysis of Radioisotope Thermoelectric Generators integrated with JPL's planned Solar Probe spacecraft. The principle purpose of the Solar probe mission is to explore the solar corona by performing in-situ measurements at distances as close as four solar radii or 0.02 AU from the sun. This proximity to the sun imposes some unusual design constraints on the RTG and on its integration with the spacecraft. The results demonstrated that the obstructions result in significant performance penalties for the case of the standard GPHS-RTG design. Finally, the paper describes a simple empirical method for predicting the combined effect of fuel decay and thermoelectric degradation on the RTG's power output, and applies that method to predict the long-term power profile of the obstructed Solar Probe RTGs. The results indicate that the existing GPHS-RTG design, even without modifications can meet the JPL-prescribed EOM power requirement. There is also three copies in the file of an earlier version of this dated 8/3/1990 with the report number of FSC-ESD-217-90-470. The most current one is the IAF version (IAD-90-208) dated October 6-12, 1990