SP-100, a flexible technology for space power

Power requirements for the ambitious space missions of the future exceed the limits of current power system availability. Space reactor power meets this need. The US is developing space reactor power system technology to meet the projected civilian and defense needs for the 1990s and beyond. This program, known as SP-100, will remove the restrictions on electrical power generation that have limited space missions and will enable the fuller exploration and utilization of space. The SP-100 program is developing technology to provide tens of hundreds of kilowatts of reliable, long-life space electrical power. The program is sponsored by the Department of Defense, the Department of Energy, and the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA). To focus the SP-100 program technology development for space nuclear power, a generic flight system (GFS) has been designed to meet a broad set of requirements characteristic of a variety of potential earth orbiting or interplanetary missions. The net power output selected is 100 kW(electric). No new technology is required for specific mission configurations at lower or higher electrical power output based on this generic system.