Does the ISS use fuel cells?

NASA estimate $10,000 /pound into space; 75kW~90kW of fuel cell weights around 60.7kg~ 73.2kg based on commercial PEMFC. 75 to 90 kW of power needed by the ISS.

What is the ISS powered by?

The ISS electrical system uses solar cells to directly convert sunlight to electricity. Large numbers of cells are assembled in arrays to produce high power levels.

How fuel cells are used in space exploration?

Apollo and the space shuttle both used hydrogen-oxygen fuel cells for electrical power. Fuel cells combine two chemical components at a controlled rate to produce heat, electricity, and some chemical waste product. In the case of hydrogen-oxygen fuel cells, this waste produce is water, which could be used by the crew.

Why does NASA use fuel cells?

Fuel cells are used in the space shuttle as one component of the electrical power system. The fuel cell power plants generate heat and water as by-products of electrical power generation. The excess heat is directed to fuel cell heat exchangers, where the excess heat is rejected to Freon coolant loops.

How many solar arrays are on the ISS?

Currently, the ISS has eight solar arrays generating about 160 kilowatts of power total. It’s been more than 20 years since the first solar arrays were installed on the ISS and even with upgrades, solar cells degrade over time.

Do the ISS solar panels rotate?

Gimbals are used to rotate the arrays so that they face the sun to provide maximum power to the space station. Each of the eight solar arrays is 112 feet long by 39 feet wide.

Can you ignite hydrogen in space?

There might be some localized combustion, but it would quickly burn out, just as the fire from the hydrogen in the Hindenburg zeppelin did.” According to Cain, basically it would require half as much oxygen as there is hydrogen in Jupiter’s atmosphere.

Can you collect hydrogen from space?

The principle is that you use magnetic fields to collect and concentrate hydrogen atoms from the near vacuum of space, and then a fusion rocket would turn some of this into propulsion for speed and a fusion reactor would convert the some into power to maintain the fields. The rest would get stored in tanks.

Is the ISS always in sunlight?

The International Space Station travels at a brisk 17,100 miles per hour. That means it orbits Earth every 90 minutes—so it sees a sunrise every 90 minutes. Thus, every day, the residents of the ISS witness 16 sunrises and 16 sunsets.