Lithium-ion batteries for aerospace

Under the Mars Surveyor Program (MSP01), lithium-ion batteries were developed by Lithion Inc. (Yardney Technical Products Inc.), each being 28 V, 25 Ah, 8-cells, 9 kg and fully qualified prior to mission cancellation. In addition to the requirement of being able to supply at least 90 cycles on the surface of Mars, the battery was demonstrated to be capable of operation (both charge and discharge) over a large temperature range (-20° to +40°C), with tolerance to non-operational excursions to -30° and +50°C. After mission cancellation, the batteries delivered to JPL were subjected to generic performance tests to demonstrate the applicability of the technology to meet future NASA aerospace applications. One of the two batteries currently being tested at JPL is undergoing testing according to anticipated performance requirements of future Mars Lander applications. The primary goal of this activity is to determine the performance capability to power surface operation on Mars for a prolonged period (> 3 years) after being subjected to a long cruise period. The second 25 AHr battery is being tested to determine the viability of using lithium-ion technology for future planetary orbiter applications. The test implemented consists of cycling the battery continuously under LEO conditions (30% DOD), while periodically checking the battery impedance and full capacity (100% DOD). Prior to initiating these tests, a number of characterization tests were performed to determine general performance attributes and battery health. In addition to presenting battery data, results obtained with individual cells will also be presented to further describe the capabilities of the technology to meet future applications.