Intensive work has been carried out lately to realize the project of producing electric energy in space and transferring it to the Earth. The project was proposed by P. Glaser in 1968 (2). Starting from Tsiolkovsky's ideas, progress has been made in meeting the technical and engineering requirements that enabled the numerous space vehicles and stations to be launched into space during the 34 years since the launch of the first artificial satellite the Earth. Principal Requirements for Space power Systems The technical challenges of space, financial restrictions and the search for ways for using achievements of astronautics in other branches makes inevitable the development of an industrial approach for working out and maintaining space power engineering. Varying energy consumption schedules in the conditions of limited power, along with rather stringent requirements on voltage stability in the circuit, drastically influences the power system structure. Power consumption level, difference between minimum and maximum power, and parameters stability of an energy source can determine the choice of power system type. The choice of space borne voltage must also be dependent upon power level, and with its increased deviation from the present standards is unavoidable. The principal requirement for a space vehicle power system is to maintain a varying load schedule adhering to specified tolerances on voltage regulation, required reliability level of functioning and keeping to the requirements on mass characteristics and radiation safety. Optimization of power and mass characteristics of the system is to be done with the account of space vehicle characteristics as a whole. Groups of scientists in our country worked out the requirements for the power level and resources of space power systems and recommendations concerning their types for the period up to year 2015. The results are given in table 1. Notations adopted in table 1 SPS - Ph - solar power system with solar cells; SPS - Th - solar power dynamic system; NPS - nuclear power system; NPES - nuclear power engine system; PEC - power engine complex; ERE - electric rocket engine; NRE - nuclear rocket engine.
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