Space nuclear power - An overview

Radioisotope electric propulsion of sciencecraft to the outer solar system and near-interstellar space

“…The last column gives estimated specific masses for hypothetical powerplants using a 30 cm, derated xenon thruster discussed in this section as an example. The first three devices in Table 1 involve direct conversion of heat to electricity: the conventional radioisotope thermoelectric generator (RTG) using SiGe unicouples [5], the modular RTG (MOD-RTG) which uses SiGe/GaP multicouples consisting of 20 thermocouples connected in series [6] and the radioisotope thermophotovoltaic (RTPV) power system which would use GaSb infrared (IR) photovoltaic cells to directly convert radiant heat from the radioisotope to electricity [7]. With the development of improved IR filters, the estimated efficiency of RTPV units has increased from 13% to 23% in recent years.…”

“…Conventional radioisotope thermoelectric generators (RTG) have a specific mass of about 200 kg/kW of electric power [5]. Many development efforts have been undertaken with the aim of reducing the specific mass of radioisotope electric systems [6] [7] [8] [9].…”

Nuclear electric ion propulsion for three deep space missions

“…The first flight test of a space nuclear reactor, the SNAP-10A, was conducted by the United States in 1965. The SNAP-10A consisted of a sodium-potassium cooled reactor, with uranium-zirconium hydride fuel elements, using thermoelectric power conversion [15]. It operated for about 40 days, producing a maximum of 650 W of electrical power, and had a specific mass of about 670 kg/kW.…”

Technologies for spacecraft electric power systems

“…Other options include nuclear power sources that are discussed in Ref. 5 and solar dynamic power. 6 This article focuses mostly on solar cell arrays as power sources.…”