START-3 was a test program conducted in order to demonstrate and characterize the operational performance of the prototype Integrated Solar Upper Stage (ISUS) thermionic power system. The test device consisted of a graphite thermal storage unit, multilayer foil insulation, and sixteen thermionic converters electrically connected in a series array. Several thermal input conditions were achieved during the test, which resulted in measuring converter performance at average converter hot shoe temperatures in the range of 1600 K to 2000 K. Results indicate that the thermionic converters did not perform as well as expected in the array configuration. Follow-on testing of the individual sixteen converters is currently being performed.
START-3: Operational evaluations of the ISUS engine ground demonstration thermionic power system
Space technology and applications international forum -1999 ; 1999 ; Albuquerque, New Mexico (USA)
AIP Conference Proceedings ; 458 , 1 ; 673-678
1999-01-22
6 pages
Conference paper
Electronic Resource
English
START-3: Operational Evaluations of the ISUS Engine Ground Demonstration Thermionic Power System
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