powerpoint presentation · 2018-07-21 · power •in the past, nasa has used radioisotope...
TRANSCRIPT
ABOUT KILOPOWER• The Kilopower project is a near-term technology effort to
develop preliminary concepts and technologies that could be
used for an affordable fission nuclear power system to enable
long-duration stays on planetary surfaces.
• The principal goal of the project is to sufficiently develop and
test nuclear power system technologies by 2018 so fission
power can be a viable option for NASA decision makers to
consider when making their informed selection of exploration
surface systems.
POWER
• In the past, NASA has used radioisotope
thermoelectric generators (RTGs) to power
spacecraft like Voyagers 1 and 2, the Apollo
Lunar Surface Experiments Packages, and
the Curiosity rover.
•This device directly converts heat from decaying
plutonium into electricity.
NOTES
•Most places in the solar system can't be reached
without nuclear energy.
•NASA uses plutonium-238 forged during the Cold
War to power its most ambitious missions.
•NASA is running low on the material, but the
Department of Energy is making more.
NOTES
•The US government stopped making Pu-238 in
1988. Russia sold some to NASA in the 1990s and
2000s, but it stopped selling around 2009 - most
likely because its Cold War-era stockpile ran out
URANIUM
•Because there is a shortage of plutonium suitable for
use on spacecraft, the core of the reactor will be of
solid, cast uranium-235 surrounded by a beryllium oxide
reflector.
WHAT IS THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN PLUTONIUM AND URANIUM?
• Plutonium (Pu) and Uranium (U) are just two completely
different elements. The both happen to be radioactive and
some of their isotopes are considered fissile material since
they are capable of sustaining a nuclear reaction.
• Plutonium is a transuranic element with an atomic number of
94 and is not found in nature. It was first made in 1940. It is
entirely man made
NOTES
•Uranium is another metal that is slightly
radioactive and was discovered in 1789.
• It is silvery white and corrodes to a black oxide in
air. It is a naturally occurring element that is
usually used in nuclear reactors
NOTES
•The Kilopower reactors will come in a variety of
sizes able to produce from one to 10 kilowatts
of electrical power, continuously for 10 years or
more
•The fission reactor uses Uranium-235 to generate
heat that is carried to the Stirling converters via
passive sodium heat pipes.
HOW IT WILL WORK
• Primary coolant - liquid sodium (Kilopower)
• Almost all currently operating nuclear power plants are light
water reactors using ordinary water under high pressure as
coolant and neutron moderator.
• Heavy water reactors (CANDU) use deuterium oxide which
has identical properties to ordinary water but much lower
neutron capture, allowing more thorough moderation.
NOTES
•Each ISS solar array wing (often abbreviated "SAW")
consists of two retractable "blankets" of solar cells with
a mast between them. Each wing uses nearly 33,000
solar cells and when fully extended is 35 metres (115 ft)
in length and 12 metres (39 ft) wide