French technology in NiH2 cell and battery in geo satellite for the present decade

You are here: Homepage > Search

French technology in NiH2 cell and battery in geo satellite for the present decade

Lacout, B. / Paugam, D.

After qualification in 1988 of the NiH2 cells VHS-BL series (30 to 50 Ah), the development of a second generation of NiH2 cells (40 to 100 Ah) was undertaken in 1989, under CNES and ESA contracts, to fit the needs of European GEO satellites of the present decade as well as LEO applications. In the same period of time, and in conjunction with current and future European space programs, a massive development work was launched to provide the space industry with a modular battery technology able to comply with various applications. The framework was based upon: Modular design allowing versatility on capacity and number of cells, low eight, minimized cost. An intensive use of mechanical and thermal modelling was performed aiming at predicting the battery behaviour in qualification and flight conditions. Validation of the models was performed on a Structural and Thermal Model that successfully passed all the qualification tests. This paper describes the work carried out by SAFT Space Department including cell general design, performance and qualification level in he new approach for battery development.