Military Satellite Battery Type

[PeterMacQuarrie]

Greetings,
Does any one know the battery types used inside military satellites?
Thanks!
Peter MacQuarrie.

 

[prcguy]

There has been a lot of different battery chemistries used in satellites and when I worked at Hughes Aircraft in the 80s and 90s the spacecraft battery department was in the same building as my group. They were making and using Ni-Cad batteries at the time, huge cells with lots of capacity and very long life span. I have some perforated stainless steel samples in my garage somewhere that were part of the internal structure or plates of those batteries.

These types of Ni-Cad batteries were most likely used in the UHF Follow On satellites, which are now the most common UHF milsats you will hear.

 

[PeterMacQuarrie]

There has been a lot of different battery chemistries used in satellites and when I worked at Hughes Aircraft in the 80s and 90s the spacecraft battery department was in the same building as my group. They were making and using Ni-Cad batteries at the time, huge cells with lots of capacity and very long life span. I have some perforated stainless steel samples in my garage somewhere that were part of the internal structure or plates of those batteries.

These types of Ni-Cad batteries were most likely used in the UHF Follow On satellites, which are now the most common UHF milsats you will hear.

Greetings ,
Thanks for the reply. It helps me a lot.
Sincerely,
Peter MacQuarrie.

 

[PeterMacQuarrie]

Greetings prcguy,
Do you have any info on the shielding used in the batteries to protect them from the hostile environment and conditions of space?
Thanks!
Sincerely,
Peter MacQuarrie.

 

[prcguy]

Greetings prcguy,
Do you have any info on the shielding used in the batteries to protect them from the hostile environment and conditions of space?
Thanks!
Sincerely,
Peter MacQuarrie.

No, not specifically. I've seen the innards of a few satellites and diagrams of the battery system but I its out of my expertise. I've had tours of the Hughes/Boing spacecraft assembly and test area in El Segundo, CA and when I worked in the satellite broadcast industry I was invited to see a couple of satellites under test before shipping to the launch site. I'll see if I can find any pictures of myself and coworkers posing next to a completed satellite in the test bay area. I also worked closely with a few spacecraft engineers who answered any and all similar questions you are asking but I never dived into the shielding or protection.

Generally speaking, many spacecraft have solar shielding in key places to help control internal temps and heat pumps that circulate liquids to move heat to where it can be radiated into space. Different companies use different methods to control internal temps. There are almost always two power busses on the spacecraft for redundancy and I've seen several spacecraft operate with one failed power bus to the expected end of life, so they have things figured out pretty well.

I do have one satellite story which happens to be about a UHF satcom sat. Early in my aerospace career I was invited to my first tour the Hughes satellite assembly/test area and at the end of the tour our large group was stopped next to a completed satellite ready for shipment to the launch site. It was Leasat 3, a military UHF satellite.

I was at the back of the group standing just a few feet from the spacecraft sitting upright with its helical antennas deployed and there was just a rope barrier between us and the spacecraft. As I and a few coworkers were marveling at this incredible thing next to us I reached over the ropes and gently put the palm of my hand on the solar panel and this was the big soup can shaped satellite completely covered in solar panels that rotate. At the end of the speech about the satellite the guy giving the tour said, by the way, do not touch the spacecraft as you walk by it. Oops, too late.

Leasat 3 launched in April 1985 and its second stage rocked failed leaving it in a low earth orbit. I was following the launch on the NASA channel or something similar and thought oh f**k, I broke the satellite! A few months later a space shuttle mission grabbed the satellite, fixed whatever was wrong and it finally shot into geostationary orbit working just fine and with my handprint on it somewhere.

Here is a picture of Leasat 3 being worked on by the space shuttle crew before relaunching into final orbit. In this pic the spacecraft is half size with one rotating solar panel array telescoped up inside the other. The receive antenna is on the left and the transmit antenna is on the right tucked up against the body. When in final orbit they will deploy out and away from the body.

 

[PeterMacQuarrie]

Greetings prcguy,
Thanks for the reply. Your experience is an interesting story. Wow! I've never saw a satellite up close. I wish I could see one right there in front of me. You have a cool work history, and I must admit that I'm not that cool.
Thanks!
Sincerely,
Peter MacQuarrie.

 

[spacellamaman]

No, not specifically. I've seen the innards of a few satellites and diagrams of the battery system but I its out of my expertise. I've had tours of the Hughes/Boing spacecraft assembly and test area in El Segundo, CA and when I worked in the satellite broadcast industry I was invited to see a couple of satellites under test before shipping to the launch site. I'll see if I can find any pictures of myself and coworkers posing next to a completed satellite in the test bay area. I also worked closely with a few spacecraft engineers who answered any and all similar questions you are asking but I never dived into the shielding or protection.

Generally speaking, many spacecraft have solar shielding in key places to help control internal temps and heat pumps that circulate liquids to move heat to where it can be radiated into space. Different companies use different methods to control internal temps. There are almost always two power busses on the spacecraft for redundancy and I've seen several spacecraft operate with one failed power bus to the expected end of life, so they have things figured out pretty well.

I do have one satellite story which happens to be about a UHF satcom sat. Early in my aerospace career I was invited to my first tour the Hughes satellite assembly/test area and at the end of the tour our large group was stopped next to a completed satellite ready for shipment to the launch site. It was Leasat 3, a military UHF satellite.

I was at the back of the group standing just a few feet from the spacecraft sitting upright with its helical antennas deployed and there was just a rope barrier between us and the spacecraft. As I and a few coworkers were marveling at this incredible thing next to us I reached over the ropes and gently put the palm of my hand on the solar panel and this was the big soup can shaped satellite completely covered in solar panels that rotate. At the end of the speech about the satellite the guy giving the tour said, by the way, do not touch the spacecraft as you walk by it. Oops, too late.

Leasat 3 launched in April 1985 and its second stage rocked failed leaving it in a low earth orbit. I was following the launch on the NASA channel or something similar and thought oh f**k, I broke the satellite! A few months later a space shuttle mission grabbed the satellite, fixed whatever was wrong and it finally shot into geostationary orbit working just fine and with my handprint on it somewhere.

Here is a picture of Leasat 3 being worked on by the space shuttle crew before relaunching into final orbit. In this pic the spacecraft is half size with one rotating solar panel array telescoped up inside the other. The receive antenna is on the left and the transmit antenna is on the right tucked up against the body. When in final orbit they will deploy out and away from the body.

I think the pic/link didn't upload properly.

 

[prcguy]

I think the pic/link didn't upload properly.

Here is another version.

File:Leasat 3 STS-51-I.jpg - Wikipedia

en.m.wikipedia.org

 

[spacellamaman]

Here is another version.

File:Leasat 3 STS-51-I.jpg - Wikipedia

en.m.wikipedia.org

Aww cool thanks, I love those pics.

One question tho, where is his microfiber cloth and squeegee? Or did he just use the back of his glove?

That story is hilarious.