SPACE APPLICATIONS OF HIGH-TEMPERATURE SUPERCONDUCTIVITY - THE HIGH-TEMPERATURE SUPERCONDUCTIVITY SPACE EXPERIMENT (HTSSE)

The Naval Research Laboratory (NRL) is exploring the feasibility of de ploying high temperature superconducting electrical and electronic dev ices and components in military systems, especially in space. The init ial High Temperature Superconductivity Space Experiment (HTSSE-I) will demonstrate that High Temperature Superconducting (HTS) technology is sufficiently robust to survive the space environment and that it has the potential to significantly improved military systems. The devices for this mission have been procured, tested, space qualified and integ rated into a space package which was shipped from NRL for on-orbit mis sion which is scheduled for 1993. The second HTSSE program began in 19 91 when contracts were awarded for the procurement of a variety of adv anced devices and subsystems based on HTS technology. Two versions of each component in space qualified packages will be delivered to NRL fo r electrical verification, space qualification, and integration with c ryogenic refrigerators and the necessary ambient temperature electroni cs into a payload which will be in orbit late in 1996. This paper will describe the properties of superconductivity which may impact communi cations and surveillance systems and describe how HTS can be employed beneficially in operational electronic systems.