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Plug in shuttle
From http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/sci/tech/6943451.stm
The mission is scheduled to last for 11 days but can be extended to 14 thanks to a new piece of equipment that allows the shuttle to tap into the power grid of the ISS. This is what we call a "plug". I'm amazed this hasn't been done before. Both systems must be using batteries somewhere in their systems so recharging must be pretty straightforward. Even if their worried about vacuum welding contactless charging devices are off the shelf items. Is this an illustration of how EVERYTHING in space needs to be reinvented, making it hugely expensive. Or is it an illustration of the expensive way NASA chooses to do things. |
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Plug in shuttle
Alex Terrell wrote in news:1186987878.631674.60830@
22g2000hsm.googlegroups.com: From http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/sci/tech/6943451.stm The mission is scheduled to last for 11 days but can be extended to 14 thanks to a new piece of equipment that allows the shuttle to tap into the power grid of the ISS. Basically a voltage converter to drop the station voltage to the Shuttle's 28 VDC bus; it's a set of 2 kilowatt inverters. The Shuttle does not have any batteries to speak of, other than the fuel cells which are also electrochemical devices just like batteries. Why hasn't it been done before? I dunno...maybe issues of efficiency, reliability, weight and size reduction? Station may not have had the extra power to spare until the additional solar array was launched and put online. It may be that the new array included batteries as well. --Damon |
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Plug in shuttle
Damon Hill wrote:
Alex Terrell wrote in news:1186987878.631674.60830@ 22g2000hsm.googlegroups.com: From http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/sci/tech/6943451.stm The mission is scheduled to last for 11 days but can be extended to 14 thanks to a new piece of equipment that allows the shuttle to tap into the power grid of the ISS. Basically a voltage converter to drop the station voltage to the Shuttle's 28 VDC bus; it's a set of 2 kilowatt inverters. The Shuttle does not have any batteries to speak of, other than the fuel cells which are also electrochemical devices just like batteries. Why hasn't it been done before? I dunno...maybe issues of efficiency, reliability, weight and size reduction? Station may not have had the extra power to spare until the additional solar array was launched and put online. It may be that the new array included batteries as well. --Damon The Greenies will be happy that the shuttle is now partly solar powered. Sylvia. |
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Plug in shuttle
On Mon, 13 Aug 2007 18:18:28 +1000, Sylvia Else
wrote: The Greenies will be happy that the shuttle is now partly solar powered. The Greenies like that the Shuttle is hydrogen powered anyway. They don't ask where they hydrogen comes from and no one tells them. Brian |
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Plug in shuttle
On Sun, 12 Aug 2007 23:51:18 -0700, Alex Terrell
wrote: The mission is scheduled to last for 11 days but can be extended to 14 thanks to a new piece of equipment that allows the shuttle to tap into the power grid of the ISS. This is what we call a "plug". I'm amazed this hasn't been done before. The Station didn't have enough electrical power before. It achieved that with the S4 solar arrays installed on the Atlantis flight in June. Brian |
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Plug in shuttle
Alex Terrell wrote:
From http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/sci/tech/6943451.stm The mission is scheduled to last for 11 days but can be extended to 14 thanks to a new piece of equipment that allows the shuttle to tap into the power grid of the ISS. This is what we call a "plug". The power bus -- er, sorry: grid -- of the ISS is not the same voltage as the power bus of the shuttle. Thus, a (space rated) DC-DC converter needed to be designed, built and qualified with both Station and Shuttle systems. The qualifying of the device probably costs more than one device. The plug has to be put somewhere... somewhere that it can be plugged in and unplugged without requiring a space walk. I'm amazed this hasn't been done before. Both systems must be using batteries somewhere in their systems so recharging must be pretty Shuttle has no batteries. Fuel Cells are a replacement for batteries. Not all battieries are created equal. Some are 1.5v, some 6v, some 12v, some 48v. Some can be charged fast (e.g. flooded led-acid), some have to be chared slow (e.g. gel cell), some are even more specialized (e.g. lithium ion). And those are just the batteries that I own! Glen Overby Twin Cities, MN |
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