Recommended OSC design and analysis of AMTEC power system for outer-planet missions

The paper describes OSC designs and analyses of AMTEC cells and radioisotope power systems for possible application to NASA’s Europa Orbiter and Pluto Kuiper Express missions, and compares their predicted performance with JPL’s preliminary mission goals. The latest cell and generator designs presented here were the culmination of studies covering a wide variety of generator configurations and operating parameters. The many steps and rationale leading to OSC’s design evolution and materials selection were discussed in earlier publications and will not be repeated here except for a description of OSC’s latest design, including a recent heat source support scheme and cell configuration that have not been described in previous publications. As shown, that heat source support scheme eliminates all contact between the heat source and the AMTEC (Alkali Metal Thermal-to-Electrical Conversion) cells, which simplifies the generator’s structural design as well as its fabrication and assembly procedure. An additional...