Proposal and Evaluation of High-Heat Insulation System for Spacecraft by Using WPT

Abstract

As a new space station succeeding the International Space Station (ISS), lunar orbit manned base, called “Gateway”, is considered and manned lunar surface exploration via the Gateway is also studied. To realize manned lunar surface exploration, new technologies are needed to overcome the severe condition of the lunar night. As one of these technologies, applying Wireless Power Transfer (WPT) to the spacecraft, such as a rover, is proposed. WPT system contributes to the improvement of heat insulation performance and is effective for reduction of the battery weight on the spacecraft. In addition, Magnetic Transmissive MLI (MT-MLI) was developed to suppress the generation of eddy currents. In WPT experiments with MT-MLI, the power transmission efficiency between coils was 90 % or more. Furthermore, thermal vacuum tests demonstrated that the combination of WPT and MT-MLI reduced thermal leakage.