The US has used Radioisotope Thermoelectric Generators (RTGs) to provide reliable, uninterrupted thermal and electrical power for spacecraft since the 1960s. This chapter presents and discusses the performance data available from all US RTG‐powered space missions flown by the end of 2020. It presents RTG power that is normalized to the power produced at the beginning‐of‐mission. RTGs are now a very long‐lived power generation technology. SNAP‐3B was the first RTG to fly in space. It was a small, 2.7 W e supplementary power source for the Transit 4‐A and Transit 4‐B satellites. In 1965, National Aeronautics and Space Administration commissioned the SNAP‐27 RTG for use on the surface of the moon. This put development of the lunar SNAP‐27 in parallel with the deep space SNAP‐19.
Lifetime Performance of Spaceborne RTGs
The Technology of Discovery ; 183-212
2023-01-11
30 pages
Article/Chapter (Book)
Electronic Resource
English
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