Developing a 5 watt nuclear D cell battery that lasts decades for cubesat space missions

The energy contained in 1 kg of Plutonium-238 is 160,000 times that of chemical sources, i.e. 1.6e06 MJ / kg

Assuming a 25% conversion efficiency, a Radioisotope Power Source (RPS) would have 400,000 MJ / kg (electric) compared to 0.72 MJ / kg for Li-ion batteries

Option for Low Power Sources for small nanosats and microsats
• Power sources in the 5 - 20 We range entail additional issues and offer additional options
– Requires small quantities of isotope – 62.5 g of Pu-238; 250 g Am- 241 (for 5 We)
– Am-241 is available at around 1 kg/yr commercially
– Am-241 produces 59 kev gammas which are stopped readily by tungsten so the radiation field is very low
– Thus, an Am-241 source could be placed in among the instruments and the waste heat used to heat the platform
– Amounts of isotope are so low that launch approval may be easier, especially with the tungsten encapsulation

The goal is make a 5 watt "D cell" but with nuclear power that lasts decades





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