Kilowatt Class Fission Energy Conversion

NASArsquo;s Kilopower program aims to jumpstart a new approach to powering exploration in the future by utilization of fission reactors.nbsp; The heat from these reactors then drives Stirling engines that when coupled with generators, can produce the power required for future missions.nbsp; The proposed program aims to have QorTek work with Sunpower to further enhance the capability of their Stirling generators and provide a radiation hardened solution for NASArsquo;s program requirements.nbsp; Previous work completed by Sunpower has demonstrated the operation of the engine and controller and to meet this programrsquo;s requirements will require the current generation of Stirling controller to be upgraded to 1kW of capability.nbsp; The design of the controller and Stirling engine is desired to be modular such that multiple 1kW systems can be placed in parallel further increasing power availability.nbsp; With the design completed and with engine simulators from Sunpower, we aim to demonstrate the feasibility and operation of the engine before focusing on core components to radiation hardened.nbsp; Radiation hardening is anticipated to be a challenge due to the proximity of the engine and controller electronics to the reactor and the objective is to utilize state of the art WBG materials to help achieve as high a radiation resistance as possible to minimize required shielding.nbsp;