Growth requirements are driven by the principal options identified for Space Station evolution. One future option addresses accommodations in low Earth orbit of ‘bold' human exploration initiatives such as those identified by the National Commission on Space and the Ride Report which are currently undergoing further study by NASA's Office of Exploration. To support future initiatives such as piloted mission to Mars, the Space Station will initially serve as a facility for life science research and technology development. There research will be performed to understand better the physiological effects of long exposures to zero gravity and to demonstrate and validate the in-space operation of critical technologies which will enable future exploration missions. After the precursory research phase, the Station evolves to a transportation node for space vehicle assembly, checkout, servicing and deployment. The electrical power required to support both evolutionary phases was estimated based upon current understanding of the required operations. Another viable evolution option involves growth of Space Station consistent with its initial role as a multipurpose, R&D facility. Subsequent to Phase I assembly completion, additional power, crew, volume and structure will be added along with new capabilities (e.g. satellite servicing facility) to enable growth in science, technology and commercial payload accommodations. Studies of multidiscipline, R&D growth at the Space Station involved analysis of a number of scenarios, each of which emphasized a particular discipline on Station (e.g. microgravity research). Power and other resource requirements were computed for each scenario as a function of lift capability to Station orbit. Lift assumptions were defined by three transportation models, conservative, moderate and aggressive, the latter two assume the use of expendable and heavy lift launch vehicles to augment capability provided by the Shuttle. These data along with results from the transportation node analyses were assessed to develop an integrated set of growth requirements for recommendation to the Space Station Freedom Program at PRR. Requirements were defined that support a broad range of evolution scenarios for Space Station thereby maintaining maximum future flexibility. In the case of electrical power, it is anticipated that 300 kW is adequate to accommodate future missions and growth in housekeeping requirements. (Paper number IAF-ICOSP89-12-4.) 12-5. Lunar Base Power System Concepts H. S. Bloomfield National Aeronautics Space Administration, Lewis Research Center, 21000 Brookpark Road, Cleveland, OH 44135, USA (Tel: 216 433-6131). This paper presents the preliminary results of studies of nuclear reactor power plant concepts for lunar base applications. These studies are a continuing effort, in conjunction with NASA's Office of Exploration, to examine to variety of system configurations that meet projected mission scenarios for planetary surface central station power. Two widely different concepts have been examined. The first is based on the assumption of minimal prior, or precursor lunar base infrastructure, while the second assumes a significant, prior manned presence and infrastructure to enable pwoer plant construction activities. While both power plant concepts utilize the 2.5 MW SP-100 reactor core as a thermal energy source they employ different energy conversion methods and shielding techniques. These differences lead to major differences in power plant layout construction and operational features which have been assessed for projected NASA mission requirements. (Paper number IAF-ICOSP89-12-5.)
RkJQdWJsaXNoZXIy MTU5NjU0Mg==