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Multifunctional structures for hydrogen storage
The loads imposed on all spacecraft during launch greatly exceed the loads a spacecraft is likely to experience during the rest of its operational lifetime. This results in a spacecraft requiring structural elements which become effectively redundant pieces of ‘dead’ mass during a mission’s operational phase.
One possible way to address this is to find a use for these structural elements once a spacecraft is launched, and one of the most promising of these uses is for propellant storage. Hydrogen, since it can be used as both a propellant and as an input for fuel cells, is a good candidate propellant to study for possible storage in structural elements, and more appropriately for AOCS propellant needs.
The main objectives of this activity are to investigate the state of the art in hydrogen technology, both storage and usage, to understand the major factors impacting spacecraft design and also to begin investigating how structural elements could be used for hydrogen storage. In addition, work in this activity will begin the design of a spacecraft demonstrator to begin testing and validating hydrogen storage concepts within structural elements.
Although the concept of hydrogen storage within multi-functional elements may initially find applications in nano and mini satellites, should the approach prove feasible the next step might be to investigate extending the multifunctionality of structural elements to larger spacecraft or missions, for example medium scale robotic interplanetary missions.
| Start |
Expected or actual duration | Status | Prime contractor |
|---|---|---|---|
| Jan. '04 | 9 months | Completed | Mechatronic |
Executive Summary