Li ion batteries for aerospace applications

Rechargeable Li ion batteries are perceived as likely substitutes for conve ntional nickel systems in an effort to minimize the mass and volume of the power subsystems in aerospace applications. The on-going consortium of NASA and DoD, after 2 years of existence, has propelled the advancement of aero space Li ion technology in the US. Prototype cells of different sizes have been built by domestic manufacturers and are being evaluated both by NASA a nd Air Force. The early versions of these prototypes catered to needs of im minent NASA missions, i.e. Mars landers and revers. Developmental efforts a re underway to further improve the technology to meet the demands of long c alendar life, as in the geosynchronous earth orbit (GEO) and the outer plan ets missions, and long cycle life as in the low earth orbit (LEO) missions. In this paper, we will briefly describe the objective and progress of this joint effort. (C) 2001 Published by Elsevier Science B.V.