Advanced Stirling Radioisotope Generator
The Advanced Stirling Radioisotope Generator (ASRG) is a radioisotope power system using Stirling power conversion technology currently being developed under joint sponsorship by the United States Department of Energy and NASA for potential future space missions. The higher conversion efficiency of the Stirling cycle compared with that of radioisotope thermoelectric generators (RTGs) used in previous missions (Viking, Pioneer, Voyager, Galileo, Ulysses, Cassini, and New Horizons) offers the advantage of a fourfold reduction in PuO2 fuel.
One of the nine finalists proposed to use this generator is the TiME spacecraft lander mission to Titan, the largest moon of the planet Saturn, with a launch intended for January 2015.[1][2] The prototype generator will have these specifications:[3]
- ≥14 year lifetime
- Nominal power : 140 W
- Mass ~ 20 kg
- System efficiency: ~ 30 %
- 2 GPHS (“Pu238 Bricks”) modules
- Uses 0.8 kg plutonium-238
References
Cite error: Invalid <references> tag;
parameter "group" is allowed only.
<references />, or <references group="..." />- Advanced Stirling Technology Development at NASA Glenn Research Center
- Development of Advanced Stirling Radioisotope Generator for Space Exploration
See also
- Stirling Radioisotope Generator
- Radioisotope thermoelectric generator
- Radioisotope heater unit
- Stirling engine
| 40px | This article about one or more spacecraft of the United States is a stub. You can help ssf by expanding it. |
- ↑ "Titan Mare Explorer (TiME): The First Exploration of an Extra-Terrestrial Sea" (PDF). 25 August 2009. Retrieved 2009-11-03.
|first1=missing|last1=in Authors list (help) - ↑ Titan Mare Explorer (TiME): The First Exploration of an Extra-Terrestrial Sea
- ↑ NASA's Planetary Science Division Update (June 23, 2008).
