RTG -- History and New HorizonsRTG Resources with Additional Information Radioisotope Thermoelectric Generators (RTGs), called "space batteries" or "nuclear batteries", have provided spacecraft power for many years. Most recently, an RTG provides power for the New Horizons spacecraft which was launched January 19, 2006, ‘from Florida's Kennedy Space Center on a 9-1/2 year journey to explore Pluto and its moons. The spacecraft will receive heat and electricity from a long-lasting plutonium-238 powered generator developed and assembled by scientists and engineers at the [Department of Energy's] Idaho, Oak Ridge and Los Alamos National Laboratories.  Courtesy of NASA/Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory/Southwest Research Institute For the mission, the Department of Energy developed and delivered a radioisotope thermoelectric generator, or "RTG." This "space battery" provides an uninterrupted and reliable source of heat and electricity in remote and harsh environments such as deep space. The RTG will provide power and heat for many years to the New Horizons spacecraft and its on-board scientific equipment through the radioactive decay of nuclear material. Heat generated by the radioactive decay of plutonium-238 is converted into electricity by solid-state thermoelectrics.'1 "Oak Ridge National Laboratory developed and fabricated the material used to encapsulate the plutonium; Los Alamos National Laboratory purified, pelletized into a ceramic form and encapsulated the plutonium; and Idaho National Laboratory assembled and tested the RTG and safely delivered the flight-ready RTG to the Kennedy Space Center (KSC)."2 "RTGs provided by DOE have enabled American scientists to explore the solar system for many years. Prior to New Horizons, the Apollo missions to the Moon, the Viking missions to Mars, and the Pioneer, Voyager, Ulysses, Galileo and Cassini missions to the outer solar system all used this safe, efficient and long-lasting power source."1 1Edited excerpts from DOE
Technology Helps NASA Seek "New Horizons"
2Edited excerpts from NASA's Nuclear Proving Ground Resources with Additional InformationAdditional information about Radioisotope Thermoelectric Generators (RTGs) is available in full-text and on the Web. Documents:RTG Parametric Study. Report for the RTG study, Voyager Task C, DOE Technical Report, September 1966 TAGS-85/2N RTG Power for Viking Lander Capsule, DOE Technical Report, August 1969 Power Supplies for Space Systems Quality Assurance by Sandia Laboratories, DOE Technical Report, July 1976 Atomic Power in Space: A History, DOE Technical Report, March 1987 Operational Readiness Review Plan for the Radioisotope Thermoelectric Generator Materials Production Tasks, DOE Technical Report, April 1990 Cassini RTG Acceptance Test Results and RTG Performance on Galileo and Ulysses, DOE Technical Report, June 1997 GPHS-RTGs in Support of the Cassini RTG Program. Final Technical Report, January 11, 1991--April 30, 1998, DOE Technical Report, August 1998 Additional Web Pages:Radioisotope Power Systems: Description New Horizons - NASA's Pluto-Kuiper Belt Mission Radioisotope Power Systems: History Radioisotope Power Systems: Spacecraft Power for Cassini Radioisotope Power Systems, Oak Ridge National Laboratory Researcher Provides a Historical Perspective for Plutonium Heat Sources, Los Alamos National Laboratory NASA's New Horizons Mission Also a New Horizon for INL, Idaho National Laboratory Milliwatt Surveillance Program Ensures RTG Safety and Reliability |
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