Evolutionary growth for Space Station Freedom electrical power system

Abstract

Over an operational lifetime of at least 30 yr, Space Station Freedom will encounter increased space station user requirements and advancing technologies. The space station electrical power system is designed with the flexibility to accommodate these emerging technologies and expert systems and is being designed with the necessary software hooks and hardware scars to accommodate increased growth demand. The electrical power system is planned to grow from the initial 75 kW up to 300 kW. The Phase I station will utilize photovoltaic arrays to produce the electrical power; however, for growth to 300-kW, solar dynamic power modules will be utilized. Pairs of 25-kW solar dynamic power modules will be added to the station to reach the power growth level. The addition of solar dynamic power in the growth phase places constraints in the initial space station systems such as guidance navigdtion and control, external thermal, truss structural stiffness, computational capabilities and storage which must be planned-in in order to facilitate the addition of the solar dynamic modules.

Flexibility and Adaptability of Closed Brayton Cycles Associated With Low Power Level Space Nuclear Heat Sources

“…Fig. 1 gives an overview of the power equipment being actively developed now, as reported in several papers [1], [2], [3]. The final station configuration, the power system diagram, one CBC module and a longitudinal cross section of a turbogenerator-compressor are shown.…”