Satellite Battery Technology -

A Tutorial and Overview

Carole A. Hill
The Aerospace Corporation

ABSTRACT • reliability.

Herein we discuss the battery technologies currently Physical factors to consider include size, weight,
qualified for space. It includes the advantages and configuration, and operational environment for the battery.
disadvantages for each technology and provides some The power levels are determined by the payload power
parameters that allow selection of the appropriate system requirements plus the spacecraft bus requirements. Since
for a given application. In addition, some of the newer
technologies being developed for energy storage
applications for the future are described. Table 1.

INTRODUCTION
Technology System Level Operating
The electrical power system (EPS) accounts for about Specific Energy Voltage
20-30% of total satellite mass and occupies a significant (Whrlkg) @
portion of the satellite volume. With increasing emphasis on 1 00% DoD
low-cost missions, users are searching for technologies that
are lighter, cheaper, and have higher cycle life.
Spacecraft that use photovoltaics as a power source NiCd 35 1 .2
usually require an energy storage system. The system
provides spacecraft power during launch phase NiMH2 42 1 .2
(pre-deployment), periods of peak power demand, and during
NiHl 40 1 .2
eclipse periods. The energy storage system may also be used
to regulate bus voltage during discharge. Secondary NaS 1 00 2.0
(rechargeable) batteries are commonly used for energy
Lilon 1 56 3.5
storage. While systems such as flywheels and fuel cells may
be considered for some missions, only secondary batteries
will be covered herein.
Before selecting an energy storage system, the mission battery life is limited, both Beginning Of Life (BOL) and End
operations, objectives, and requirements must be defined. Of Life (EOL) power requirements must be considered.
These include: Each battery technology has a specific operating voltage.
Cells are arranged in series to provide the voltage required at
• power level requirements. the bus and in parallel to provide the required capacity.
Operating voltages and specific energy for some of the more
• working voltage. commonly used battery systems are given in Table 1 .
The mission profile determines the orbit. If the orbit is
geosynchronous (GEO), the eclipse seasons occur twice a
• orbit and mission duration. and
year, in Spring and Fall. Each season has 45 eclipses up to a
72 minute maximum duration. The total cycles per year range
Author's Current Address:
from 90 to 1 00. In Low Earth Orbit (LEO), eclipse occurs
The Aerospace Corporation, P.O. Box 9045, Albuquerque, NM 87 1 1 9-9045, USA. about every ninety minutes for a total of 5000 to 5 500 cycles
Based 00 a presentation at an Aerospace Conference. Review was handled by R. Sandbury. per year. In both cases, the batteries are recharged by the
0885/8985/1 1 1 $26.00 @ 20 1 1 IEEE solar panels during sunlight periods.

38 IEEE A&E SYSTEMS MAGAZINE, JUNE 20 1 1

 Spacecraft batteries must have acceptable volumetric
(Wh/I) and specific energy (Wh/kg) at a useable Depth of
Discharge (DoD) and also good cycle life. Specific energy
varies with mission application (GEO or LEO) and with cell
and battery design.
After all mission power needs are defined, battery
selection is often determined by whatever mass and volume
constraints exist for a particular spacecraft.
Reliability is provided either by flying redundant batteries
or by having redundant cells with appropriate bypass
circuitry. The key to battery reliability is to select the
electrochemical system most suited to the intended
application.
The performance of any battery system depends on the
cell design and operating environment. The cycle numbers
and calendar life provided on the following pages are based
on prior experience with these technologies.

Table 2.

Program Power Type

(Maximum)

PicoSat 43.9W Experiment

Platform Fig. t. MightySat I
MightySat I 3S.0W Experiment Nickel-cadmium (NiCd) is the most popular alkaline
Platform secondary technology. NiCd cells are also readily available
FaiSat to.OW Communication in many sizes. Although they cost more than lead acid, they
have higher energy density and have demonstrated longer
cycle life than lead acid. This technology is selected if the
mission duration is expected to be two to three years. One
SMALL POWER REQUIREMENTS disadvantage of NiCd is the "memory " effect which is a loss
of capacity when cells are cycled at low depths of discharge.
Small satellites and experimental satellites, with power The capacity can usually be recovered by performing several
requirements of 200W or less and a mission life of two years deep reconditioning cycles. Primary causes of irreversible
or less, can use screened commercial cells in the battery failure in nickel-cadmium are internal short circuits, separator
system. Some examples of systems with low power degradation, and loss of electrolyte during extended cycling.
requirements are listed in Table 2. The commercial cells, Silver-zinc has the highest specific energy of the
which are cylindrical, usually range in capacity from 1 .2 Ah commercial technologies considered for small power
to 7 Ah. There are several technologies that will meet the requirements. Silver-zinc is available in many small sizes and
requirements: lead acid, nickel cadmium, and silver zinc is suitable for applications with short cycle life ( 1 00 cycles)
cells. and short calendar life. Causes of failure are:
Sealed lead-acid batteries are among the most widely used
rechargeable commercial batteries for small power • separator degradation,
applications. They are low-cost, have good high rate
capability, and have no "memory " effect (a reduction in • silver migration, and
capacity when cycled at low depths of discharge). Lead acid
has a relatively low energy density and a lower cycle life • zinc electrode degradation.
than sealed nickel-cadmium (Table 3). Because of the low
cycle life, lead acid is usually selected for experimental A disadvantage of using commercial cells is the number of
satellites with a mission duration of a few months. Failures cells required to perform proper screening. As a general rule,
on cycling are generally due to the degradation of the twice the number of cells that will be used to configure the
positive plate. These failures are irreversible. battery must go through a screening process to match cell

IEEE A&E SYSTEMS MAGAZINE, JUNE 201 I 39

 Fig. 4. Individual Pressure Vessel (IPV) NiH2

MEDIUM POWER REQUIREMENTS

For applications that require 1 -2kW of power and greater

than two years of operation, aerospace quality batteries are
Fig. 2. Prismatic NiCd Cell necessary. In the past, aerospace nickel-cadmium batteries
have been the system of choice for both commercial
communications satellites and DoD systems. NiCd
technology is both weight- and cost-effective for average
power levels of about 1 kW. They are available in sizes
ranging from 9 Ah to 50 Ah. NiCd batteries have been used
in space applications since the 1 960s. The thermal
management and the required support structures are well
understood. A sizable database with both ground and flight
experience is available. Some disadvantages are:
• the inability to maintain performance when cells
are scaled up to more than 50 Ah capacity,
• a sensitivity to overcharge especially at high
temperatures,
• long term storage degradation, and
• limited domestic sources for cells.
For NiCd, failure is usually due to internal short circuits,
separator degradation, and loss of electrolyte during cycling.
Advanced design nickel-cadmium cells are available that
eliminate some of these problems. However, they are
Fig. 3. GPS
somewhat heavier than traditional designs and do not have
the extensive database that traditional NiCd cells have.
voltages and capacities. Electrical characteristics of
Nickel Metal Hydride (NMH2) is another technology that
the cells must be matched to prevent imbalance among
will meet the power requirements given. A NMH2 cell has
cells within a battery. Imbalance can cause
more capacity than a NiCd cell of the same dimension but has
degradation in performance and greatly reduce battery
not yet demonstrated the high cycle life required for most
cycle life.
space systems.
One example of a small ( 1 9.5" diameter, 20.5" high, 1 35
pounds), experimental satellite that uses commercial cells is
MightyS at I, a Phillips Laboratory (PL) program. The LARGE POWER REQUIREMENTS
MightySat I battery utilizes commercial Sanyo "0" size 4 Ah
NiCd cells. MightySat is the first in a series of vehicles that With power requirements of 2 kW or greater, large
will be used as a platform for the demonstration of capacity NiH2 (35 Ah to 3 50 Ah) is appropriate. Individual
PL-sponsored spacecraft technologies. pressure vessel (IPV) NiH2 and NiCd weigh approximately

40 IEEE A&E SYSTEMS MAGAZINE, JUNE 201 1

 small, low-cost spacecraft. The NiH2 common pressure vessel
(CPV) with two cells sharing one pressure vessel and the
single pressure vessel (SPV) with twenty-two cells in one
pressure vessel offers weight and volume advantages over
IPV. The CPV could save approximately 20% of the weight
of the IPV while the SPY can save 40% or more of the
weight of the IPV. Because more than one cell is contained in
the same pressure vessel, costs for these batteries are
expected to be lower than for IPV.
Disadvantages are similar to those for IPV cells. Both
CPV and SPY have a high self-discharge rate. The SPY has
lower reliability because no spare cell or failed cell bypass
circuitry is available.
PASP+ flew NiH2 CPV. The first Spy flew on Clementine
and is the power storage system selected for Iridium.

Fig. 5. SPY, CPV AND IPV NIHz

the same for the same capacity. However, the IPV provides
higher cycle life for the same depth of discharge. In low earth
orbit, NiH2 has a weight advantage over NiCd because
smaller capacity batteries can be used to accomplish the same
mission. This is possible because a higher depth of discharge
can be used while maintaining the same cycle life. As with
NiCd, an extensive database is available for both ground and
flight operations. NiH2 is considered to be the state-of-the-art
battery system for virtually all LEO and high power GEO
spacecraft.
INTEL SAT V was the first commercial satellite to use Fig. 6. NiCd, NaS and IPV NiHz
NiH2. Air Force programs that are flying NiH2 include
MILSATCOM and GPS Block IIR. The advantages of this ADVANCED POWER SYSTEMS
system are superior cycle life and high reliability. The trade
off factors when selecting NiH2 are: In the late 1 970s, plans for future Air Force missions in
space were reviewed. These missions would require power
• the cost, levels at specific energies greater than those available using
state-of-the-art nickel-cadmium or nickel-hydrogen without
• large batteryfootprint, unacceptable weight penalties. In 1 979, the Air Force Wright
Aeronautical Laboratory funded a study of advanced
• long term storage performance changes, rechargeable battery systems for satellite applications. When
the study was completed in 1 983, sodium-sulfur was selected
• thermal control, and as the technology that was most likely to fit future
requirements. NaS could save half of the weight of an IPV
• high selfdischarge rate. NiH2 battery. With a high operating voltage (2.07V), fewer
cells are needed to provide bus voltage requirements.
Failures are usually caused by positive electrode swelling The Air Force then funded a program with objectives to
or corrosion of the positive electrode. develop and demonstrate sodium-sulfur battery technology
With increasing emphasis on low-cost missions, users are up to 1 0 kW in geosynchronous orbit. The majority of the
searching for technologies that are lighter, cheaper, and have NaS development work of large capacity cells was aimed at
longer cycle life. To reduce the costs of using space the the electric vehicle market. Cells intended for aerospace
emphasis has been shifted from large, expensive systems to applications are modifications of those cell designs.

IEEE A&E SYSTEMS MAGAZINE, JUNE 201 1 41

 In the NaS cell, the electrodes are molten sodium and In 1 990, Sony came out with a commercial LiIon cell. In
molten sulfur/sodium polysulfides. The /3" alumina functions this cell, a porous carbon material was used for the negative
as both electrolyte and separator. To maintain electrodes in electrode and lithium ions were reversibly inserted and
the molten state and provide optimum electrolyte removed from the carbon substrate.
conductivity requires an operating temperature of about Lilon cells are currently designed to meet the requirements
350°C. of the commercial market. They are found in such products
Since the electrodes are in the liquid state and the
electrolyte is a solid, the transport of the active materials to
the reaction interface of the electrolyte can only be
demonstrated with a space flight.
Battery design addressed the following areas:

• reactant containment,

• thermal insulation,

• high temperature switches, and wiring,

• as well as system interfaces.

On the cell level, preliminary life testing and safety testing

have been completed. A flight experiment (NaSBE) was
launched on STS 87 in November 1 997.
Although NaS is the most mature in development of the
advanced technologies, funding ends after the flight
experiment. In high earth orbit, NaS could be used for
commercial communications satellites or for a program like
Fig. 7. Spiral Wound Lithium Ion
the Air Force's MILSATCOM. In low earth orbit, a program
with high power requirements such as Space-Based Radar
as computers, cellular phones, and camcorders. These are
could use NaS. The projected time frame to maturity (should
small capacity cells with low cycle life requirements.
funding resume) for this technology is 4 to 7 years.
The major emphasis for development of large capacity
The trade-off areas associated with this technology are:
cells was the electric vehicle market. In addition to high
specific energy (2-3 times NiH2), the advantages of LiIon
• the lack ofan adequate data base for reliability
technology are size, weight, ease of manufacture, and
predictions,
flexibility in cell design.
The aerospace battery market represents less than one
• confirmation of battery operation in space,
percent of the commercial battery business. Since it is such a
small part of the total battery business, there is little incentive
• no overcharge or overdischarge protection, for commercial battery companies to provide the money and
man-hours required to produce aerospace cells. The
• loss ofdomestic sources for the ceramic government, industry, and battery companies that produce
electrolytes, and specialty batteries are all spending a great deal of money in
an effort to develop large capacity LiIon cells for space
• for cells. applications. Large capacity prototype cells, in both
cylindrical and prismatic designs, are being built by several
Due to several rounds of project funding cuts together domestic suppliers.
with some difficult development issues, NaS was overtaken Developers of Lilon are still investigating materials for
by advances in the LiIon technology area. optimization of anodes, cathodes, separators, and electrolyte
When NaS was selected for advanced applications, composition. Domestic manufacturers such as Eagle-Picher,
rechargeable LiIon technology was not available. The lithium and Yardney are still in the experimental or the pilot plant
technologies that were available at that time used metallic stage of development. Very few high capacity cells have
lithium for the negative electrode. Lithium plating on charge been produced and tested. One foreign manufacturer has
caused the formation of dendrites that frequently caused delivered 20 Ah cells for evaluation. Those cells are on test at
internal shorts. The shorts created safety problems for the the Jet Propulsion Laboratory and at Sandia National
metallic lithium systems. Laboratories.

42 IEEE A&E SYSTEMS MAGAZINE, JUNE 201 1

 A small data base exists for this technology that shows such as sodium-sulfur and lithium-ion may meet the
that it can be appropriate for geosynchronous applications. requirements especially in geosynchronous applications.
For the most part, cycle tests show the cells are capable of Sodium-sulfur appears to be a better choice than lithium-ion
between 500 and 1 500 cycles at low charge and discharge for LEO applications because the current lithium-ion cells
rates. Nothing in the data indicates that current cell designs will not deliver the number of cycles required in LEO
will be suitable for use in low earth orbit applications in the missions.
near future.
There is a lack of a significant database for REFERENCES
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For long duration, high altitude applications such as
[2] Linden, D., (cd),
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Handbook 0/Batteries and Fuel Cells.
more than 7 years is predicted. However, for short duration McGraw-Hill, 1 984.
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[4] P.R.K. Chetty:
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There is a wide range of battery systems available for

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deployed vehicles. For these missions, emerging technologies

IEEE A&E SYSTEMS MAGAZINE, JUNE 201 1 43