![]() |
|
|
Thread Tools | Display Modes |
#1
|
|||
|
|||
![]()
One of the articles I read, said something about overheating a battery
on Genesis just after launch. Possibly during onorbit checkout??? Maybe it was the capsule's battery that they were talking about??? I couldn't tell whether the battery thing was actually a likely cause for the Genesis parachute problem or just a speculation only because there happened to be new releases on it. Here's the information that I saw on the battery: Soon after Genesis was launched in August 2001, engineers noticed potential problems with a battery in the probe's sample return canister. The canister crashed today in the Utah desert when it's stabilizing parachute failed to deploy. The cause of the mishap is not yet known and it may have nothing to do with the battery problem noted early in the mission. But for the record, here is part of a November 15, 2001, news release from the Jet Propulsion Laboratory that addressed the issue: Project managers are monitoring the temperature of the battery inside Genesis' sample return capsule to make sure that long-term heating does not impair its performance when the capsule returns to Earth in September 2004. Although the battery is likely to become hotter than originally expected, the flight team has a number of options for managing the battery's temperature, and they do not expect the issue to affect the mission. The mission's science requirements call for 22 months of solar wind particle collection. "In our current plan Genesis will meet and exceed that goal, collecting up to 26 months' worth of solar wind particles," said Chet Sasaki, Genesis project manager at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, Calif. The temperature of the lithium-dioxide battery is currently at 23 degrees Celsius (73 degrees Fahrenheit), within the range anticipated by spacecraft designers. A radiator device intended to shield the battery is not working as well as expected, however, and the battery is likely to heat up to 42 degrees Celsius (108 degrees Fahrenheit). Mission managers consider this temperature to be within acceptable limits. They note that similar batteries have been maintained at 60 degrees Celsius (140 degrees Fahrenheit) for 15 months without impairing their performance. Ground tests are being conducted on lithium batteries to measure their durability at various temperatures. The Genesis project team has been attempting to bake potential contaminants off the battery's radiator by heating the area. They are doing this with the spacecraft's sample return backshell opened just enough to allow gas trapped inside the capsule to escape, while still avoiding exposure to the Sun. http://spaceflightnow.com/genesis/status.html |
Thread Tools | |
Display Modes | |
|
|
![]() |
||||
Thread | Thread Starter | Forum | Replies | Last Post |
Clueless pundits (was High-flight rate Medium vs. New Heavy lift launchers) | Rand Simberg | Space Science Misc | 18 | February 14th 04 03:28 AM |
NASA Releases Space Station Plan | Ron Baalke | Space Station | 0 | November 5th 03 07:00 PM |
China's Space Plans | Steve Dufour | Misc | 0 | October 17th 03 02:42 AM |
Space Calendar - September 28, 2003 | Ron Baalke | History | 0 | September 28th 03 08:00 AM |
Space Station Agency Leaders Look To The Future | Ron Baalke | Space Shuttle | 0 | July 30th 03 05:51 PM |