Solar Thermal Power for Lunar Materials Processing
Publication: Journal of Aerospace Engineering
Volume 21, Issue 2
Abstract
Lunar in situ resource utilization (ISRU) processes require thermal energy at various temperatures. Chemical recovery processes (pyrolysis, gas-solid reactions, gas-liquid or three-phase reactions and desorption) require thermal energy at temperatures from . Manufacturing processes (hot liquid processing, sinter forming, composite forming, welding, etc.) can be accomplished with thermal energy at temperatures . For these materials, process applications or solar thermal power can be effectively utilized. Physical Sciences Inc. has been developing an innovative solar power system in which solar radiation is collected by the concentrator, which transfers the concentrated solar radiation to the optical waveguide transmission line made of low loss optical fiber. In this paper, we will review our work on the development of the solar thermal power system and its application to a lunar ISRU process.
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Acknowledgments
The writers would like to thank Dr. David S. McKay, Dr. Wendell W. Mendell, and Dr. Carlton C. Allen for many useful discussions. The work reviewed in this paper was supported by SBIR Phase I (NASANAS9-18865: 1/20/93–7/19/93) and Phase II (NASANAS9-19105: 2/28/94–6/30/96) from NASA Lyndon B. Johnson Space Center.
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Information & Authors
Information
Published In
Journal of Aerospace Engineering
Volume 21 • Issue 2 • April 2008
Pages: 91 - 101
Copyright
© 2008 ASCE.
History
Received: Oct 18, 2006
Accepted: Jun 10, 2007
Published online: Apr 1, 2008
Published in print: Apr 2008
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