NASA to Discuss Demonstration of New Space Exploration Power System

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#1 NASA to Discuss Demonstration of New Space Exploration Power System

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April 18, 2018
MEDIA ADVISORY M18-062
NASA to Discuss Demonstration of New Space Exploration Power System
Marc Gibson, Kilopower lead engineer, and Jim Sanzi, Vantage Partners, install hardware on the Kilopower assembly at the Nevada National Security Site in March 2018<br />Credits: NNSS
Marc Gibson, Kilopower lead engineer, and Jim Sanzi, Vantage Partners, install hardware on the Kilopower assembly at the Nevada National Security Site in March 2018
Credits: NNSS
M18-62.jpg (258.9 KiB) Viewed 1917 times
Media are invited to attend a news conference at NASA’s Glenn Research Center in Cleveland at 9:15 a.m. EDT Wednesday, May 2, to discuss a recent experiment to demonstrate a new nuclear reactor power system designed for space.

News conference audio and presentation slides will stream live on NASA’s website.

Kilopower could provide safe, efficient and plentiful energy for future robotic and human space exploration missions to the Moon, Mars and destinations beyond. The experiment was conducted November 2017 through March 2018 at the Nevada National Security Site (NNSS).

News conference participants include:

James Reuter, acting associate administrator of NASA’s Space Technology Mission Directorate
Janet Kavandi, Glenn center director
Patrick Cahalane, principal deputy associate administrator for Safety, Infrastructure and Operations at the National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA)
Marc Gibson, Kilopower lead engineer at Glenn
Dave Poston, chief reactor designer at NNSA’s Los Alamos National Laboratory

Following the news conference, media will have the opportunity to tour the following facilities at Glenn:

Stirling Research Lab, where early Kilopower-related tests were conducted
Electric Propulsion Lab, used to test high-power solar electric propulsion that will be used to develop the power and propulsion element of NASA’s lunar outpost
Simulated Lunar Operations Lab, where NASA develops planetary rover tires and tools for in-situ resource utilization, a process for generating water, oxygen, and other products using space-based resources

Media interested in participating in the event, in person or by phone, must send their name, media affiliation and phone number to Jan Wittry at jan.m.wittry-1@nasa.gov no later than noon Tuesday, May 1.

Media and the public also can ask questions during the briefing on social media using #AskNASA.

Supporting images and video will be available online at:

https://www.nasa.gov/directorates/spacetech/kilopower

The Kilopower project is part of NASA’s Game Changing Development program and is led by Glenn, in partnership with NASA’s Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Alabama, Los Alamos National Laboratory, NNSS and Y-12 National Security Complex.

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#2 Re: NASA to Discuss Demonstration of New Space Exploration Power System

Post by bernomatic »

May 02, 2018
RELEASE 18-031
Demonstration Proves Nuclear Fission System Can Provide Space Exploration Power
Artist's concept of new fission power system on the lunar surface.<br />Credits: NASA
Artist's concept of new fission power system on the lunar surface.
Credits: NASA
M18-031a.jpg (106.99 KiB) Viewed 1909 times
NASA and the Department of Energy’s National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA) have successfully demonstrated a new nuclear reactor power system that could enable long-duration crewed missions to the Moon, Mars and destinations beyond.

NASA announced the results of the demonstration, called the Kilopower Reactor Using Stirling Technology (KRUSTY) experiment,during a news conference Wednesday at its Glenn Research Center in Cleveland. The Kilopower experimentwas conducted at the NNSA’s Nevada National Security Site from November 2017 through March.

“Safe, efficient and plentiful energy will be the key to future robotic and human exploration,” said Jim Reuter, NASA’s acting associate administrator for the Space Technology Mission Directorate (STMD) in Washington. “I expect the Kilopower project to be an essential part of lunar and Mars power architectures as they evolve.”
NASA and NNSA engineers lower the wall of the vacuum chamber around the Kilowatt Reactor Using Stirling TechnologY (KRUSTY system). The vacuum chamber is later evacuated to simulate the conditions of space when KRUSTY operates.<br /><br />Credits: Los Alamos National Laboratory
NASA and NNSA engineers lower the wall of the vacuum chamber around the Kilowatt Reactor Using Stirling TechnologY (KRUSTY system). The vacuum chamber is later evacuated to simulate the conditions of space when KRUSTY operates.

Credits: Los Alamos National Laboratory
M18-031b.jpg (24.24 KiB) Viewed 1909 times
​Kilopower is a small, lightweight fission power system capable of providing up to 10 kilowatts of electrical power - enough to run several average households - continuously for at least 10 years. Four Kilopower units would provide enough power to establish an outpost.

According to Marc Gibson, lead Kilopower engineer at Glenn, the pioneering power system is ideal for the Moon, where power generation from sunlight is difficult because lunar nights are equivalent to 14 days on Earth.

“Kilopower gives us the ability to do much higher power missions, and to explore the shadowed craters of the Moon,” said Gibson. “When we start sending astronauts for long stays on the Moon and to other planets, that’s going to require a new class of power that we’ve never needed before.”

The prototype power system uses a solid, cast uranium-235 reactor core, about the size of a paper towel roll. Passive sodium heat pipes transfer reactor heat to high-efficiency Stirling engines, which convert the heat to electricity.

According to David Poston, the chief reactor designer at NNSA’s Los Alamos National Laboratory, the purpose of the recent experiment in Nevada was two-fold: to demonstrate that the system can create electricity with fission power, and to show the system is stable and safe no matter what environment it encounters.

“We threw everything we could at this reactor, in terms of nominal and off-normal operating scenarios and KRUSTY passed with flying colors,” said Poston.

The Kilopower team conducted the experiment in four phases. The first two phases, conducted without power, confirmed that each component of the system behaved as expected. During the third phase, the team increased power to heat the core incrementally before moving on to the final phase. The experiment culminated with a 28-hour, full-power test that simulated a mission, including reactor startup, ramp to full power, steady operation and shutdown.

Throughout the experiment, the team simulated power reduction, failed engines and failed heat pipes, showing that the system could continue to operate and successfully handle multiple failures.

“We put the system through its paces,” said Gibson. “We understand the reactor very well, and this test proved that the system works the way we designed it to work. No matter what environment we expose it to, the reactor performs very well.”

The Kilopower project is developing mission concepts and performing additional risk reduction activities to prepare for a possible future flight demonstration. The project will remain a part of the STMD’s Game Changing Development program with the goal of transitioning to the Technology Demonstration Mission program in Fiscal Year 2020.
Kilowatt Reactor Using Stirling TechnologY (KRUSTY) control room during the full-power run, Marc Gibson (GRC/NASA) and David Poston (LANL/NNSA) in foreground, Geordie McKenzie (LANL/NNSA) and Joetta Goda (LANL/NNSA) in background.<br /><br />Credits: Los Alamos National Laboratory
Kilowatt Reactor Using Stirling TechnologY (KRUSTY) control room during the full-power run, Marc Gibson (GRC/NASA) and David Poston (LANL/NNSA) in foreground, Geordie McKenzie (LANL/NNSA) and Joetta Goda (LANL/NNSA) in background.

Credits: Los Alamos National Laboratory
M18-031c.jpg (29.07 KiB) Viewed 1909 times


Such a demonstration could pave the way for future Kilopower systems that power human outposts on the Moon and Mars, including missions that rely on In-situ Resource Utilizationto produce local propellants and other materials.

The Kilopower project is led by Glenn, in partnership with NASA’s Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Alabama,and NNSA, including its Los Alamos National Laboratory, Nevada National Security Site and Y-12 National Security Complex.

For more information about the Kilopower project, including images and video, visit:

https://www.nasa.gov/directorates/spacetech/kilopower

For more information about NASA’s investments in space technology, visit:

https://www.nasa.gov/spacetech

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