May 2 2018
From The Space Library
RELEASE 18-031 Demonstration Proves Nuclear Fission System Can Provide Space Exploration Power
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.”
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.
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.
MEDIA ADVISORY M18-072 NASA to Preview Pair of Upcoming US Spacewalks, Provide Live Coverage
Two NASA astronauts are scheduled to venture outside the International Space Stationfor a pair of six-and-a-half-hour spacewalks May 16 and 30. Experts from NASA will preview the work to be done during the spacewalks in a briefing at 2 p.m. EDT Tuesday, May 8, at NASA’s Johnson Space Center in Houston.
Live coverage of the briefing and spacewalks will air on NASA Television and the agency’s website.
Expedition 55 Flight Engineers Drew Feusteland Ricky Arnoldwill put on spacesuits for what will be the 210th and 211th spacewalks in support of station assembly, maintenance and upgrades. These spacewalks will be the eighth and ninth of Feustel’s career, and the fourth and fifth of Arnold’s. The primary objectives are to finish upgrading cooling system hardware and install new and updated communications equipment for future dockings of commercial crew spacecraft.
Media wishing to participate in the May 8 briefing in person must request credentials from the Johnson newsroom no later than 4 p.m. Monday, May 7. Media interested in participating by phone must contact the newsroom by 1:45 p.m. May 8.
Participating in the briefing are:
- Kenneth Todd, NASA’s International Space Station Operations integration manager
- Anthony Vareha, NASA spacewalk flight director
- Jordan Lindsey, U.S. spacewalk 50 officer at NASA
- Keith Johnson, U.S. spacewalk 51 officer at NASA
The first spacewalk will begin about 8:10 a.m. Wednesday, May 16. NASA TV coverage will begin at 6:30 a.m. Feustel and Arnold will move a component called a Pump Flow Control Subassembly (PFCS) from a spare parts platform on the station’s truss “backbone” to the Special Purpose Dexterous Manipulator (Dextre) robotic arm. The PFCS drives and controls the flow of ammonia through the exterior portions of the station’s cooling system. Robotics controllers on Earth will use Canadarm2 and Dextre to perform final installation on the port-side truss for checkout. The spacewalkers will remove a failed PFCS and return it to the spare parts depot. They’ll also replace a camera system on the Destiny Laboratory and a communications receiver. This also be the 50th spacewalk originating from the station’s Quest airlock. Other assembly and maintenance spacewalks have begun from space shuttle and Russian airlocks.
The second spacewalk is planned for Wednesday, May 30, but the exact timing is dependent on the anticipated May 24 arrival of the Orbital ATK Cygnus cargo resupply spacecraft. The ninth Cygnus cargo mission is scheduled to launch May 20 from NASA’s Wallops Flight Facility in Virginia.
During the May 30 spacewalk, Arnold and Feustel will install a pair of brackets and high-definition cameras on the Harmony module that will helpcommercial crewvehicles align with the international docking adapterat the forward end of Harmony. The cameras also will provide wireless data network access for experiments and facilities mounted on the ESA (European Space Agency) Columbus laboratory and Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency Kibo laboratory. The crew also will replace a camera on the station’s starboard truss.
