Title :
Five-year update: nickel hydrogen industry survey
Author :
Milden, Martin J.
Author_Institution :
Aerosp. Corp., El Segundo, CA, USA
Abstract :
A 1984 survey of the nickel hydrogen (NiH/sub 2/) battery industry is updated. Late 1980s and early 1990s issues are identified, and usage and testing results of the survey are summarized. NiH/sub 2/ is the system of choice for new geosynchronous-earth-orbit (GEO) satellites and is being seriously considered for low-earth-orbit (LEO) applications. In five years, the annual cell production rate has doubled from approximately 1000 to 2000 cells. A number of cells under test have exceeded 20000 cycles at 40% DOD in LEO regimes, while other cells have achieved over 35 seasons in accelerated GEO regimes. The LEO database clearly indicates that NiH/sub 2/ performance is at least as good as the best conventional nickel-cadmium performance demonstrated under test.<>
Keywords :
artificial satellites; nickel compounds; secondary cells; space vehicle power plants; GEO; LEO; NiH/sub 2/; geosynchronous-earth-orbit; low-earth-orbit; Aerospace industry; Aircraft manufacture; Batteries; Databases; Hydrogen; Life estimation; Life testing; Low earth orbit satellites; Nickel; Temperature;
Journal_Title :
Aerospace and Electronic Systems Magazine, IEEE
