Hubble Space Telescope 2004 Battery Update

Hollandsworth, Roger; Armantrout, Jon; Whitt, Tom; Rao, Gopalakrishna M.

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NASA NTRS · 20080015795

Hubble Space Telescope 2004 Battery Update

Hollandsworth, Roger·Armantrout, Jon·Whitt, Tom·Rao, Gopalakrishna M.

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Abstract

Battery cell wear out mechanisms and signatures are examined and compared to orbital data from the six on-orbit Hubble Space Telescope (HST) batteries, and the Flight Spare Battery (FSB) Test Bed at Marshall Space Flight Center (MSFC), which is instrumented with individual cell voltage monitoring. The on-orbit HST batteries were manufactured on an expedited basis after the Challenger Shuttle Disaster in 1986. The original design called for the HST to be powered by six 50 Ah Nickel Cadmium batteries, which would have required a shuttle mission every 5 years for battery replacement. The decision to use NiH2 instead has resulted in a longer life battery set which was launched with HST in April 1990, with a design life of 7 years that has now exceeded 14+ years of orbital cycling. This chart details the specifics of the original HST NiH2 cell design. The HST replacement batteries for Service Mission 4, originally scheduled for Spring 2005, are currently in cold storage at NASA Goddard Space Flight Center (GSFC). The SM4 battery cells utilize slurry process electrodes having 80% porosity.

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BibTeX RIS

Hollandsworth, Roger, Armantrout, Jon, Whitt, Tom, Rao, Gopalakrishna M.. 2006-08-01. Hubble Space Telescope 2004 Battery Update. https://ntrs.nasa.gov/citations/20080015795

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