NASA Selects AEA Technology Lithium-ion Battery For Major Programme
11th August 2005
Building on successful battery contracts with NASA Johnson Space Center and NASA Glenn Research Center, AEA Technology Space has been selected by NASA Goddard Spaceflight Center (GSFC) to supply the battery for the Solar Dynamics Observatory (SDO) spacecraft. The contract value is expected to be around $1.9 million.
The SDO is the first Space Weather Research Network mission in NASA's Living with a Star (LWS) programme that is intended to enhance NASA's understanding of the solar process and space weather by characterising the sun's dynamic state. AEA is already working with NASA to better understand how macroscale substorms are triggered in the Geospace by supplying batteries for the GSFC THEMIS programme through Swales Aerospace.
The AEA 120Ah Lithium-ion battery will provide power to the SDO spacecraft in Geostationary orbit (GEO) for a mission target duration of 10 years. Excess margin built into the battery design also suggests that the mission could be extended to 15 years. It is widely expected that the attention paid to AEA by manufacturers of large GEO communication spacecraft, looking to upgrade their older battery technology to Lithium-ion, will be further heightened.
AEA is recognised as the world leader in the supply of Lithium-ion batteries for space applications with over 40 space battery contracts. AEA supplied the first rechargeable Lithium-ion flown in space and now has a total of fourteen spacecraft that have now successfully employed (or continue to employ) AEA Lithium-ion battery technology. More than 1400 cell-years of space operation have been built up without a single failure.
Rob Spurrett, the Director of AEA Technology Space comments:
"We greatly value our strong working relationship with NASA and are extremely proud to have been selected for this prestigious program. It is a strong endorsement that the high performance, safety and reliability of the small-cell approach can be scaled up from small to large satellite applications. AEA's track record, in particular the inroads we are making in the US Space market, has proven how our small cell solution consistently outperforms those of our competitors."
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Notes To Editors
AEA Technology Space Products
AEA is the world leader in the supply of Lithium-ion batteries for space applications with over 40 space battery contracts. AEA supplied the first rechargeable Lithium-ion flown in space and now has a total of fourteen spacecraft that have now successfully employed (or continue to employ) AEA Lithium-ion battery technology.
AEA has built up a global customer base winning major contracts from NASA, ESA, and major prime manufacturers in North America, Europe and the rest of the world.
AEA has demonstrated in orbit the most reliable Lithium-ion product available for the space market by clocking up over 1400 cell years of space operation without failure.
AEA has pioneered a battery design concept that is uniquely flexible. As well being selected for very large space battery applications (such as the 900lb unit for the NASA Space Shuttle) our 'small-cell' concept has become the natural choice for small satellite applications.
AEA has been active in the space industry since the 1960s during the early days of ion-thruster development. We are proud to have been the largest non-domestic supplier during the United States Strategic Development Initiative (SDI). More recently our diverse suite of space products has ranged from UHF Antenna to LIDAR applications.
AEA is looking to take advantage of next generation Lithium-ion technology to push our battery level energy level metric from 110Wh/kg up to over 150Wh/kg.
AEA Technology plc
AEA Technology Space is part of AEA Technology plc, one of the UK's leading technology companies, providing consultancy, technological services and products to three main markets: rail, environment and portable power. AEA Technology is a market leader in each of these sectors because of its strong proprietary technology and strong customer relationships.
It focuses on two growth businesses, Rail and Environment, and has a portfolio of developing businesses, which includes AEA Technology Space.
AEA Rail is one of Europe's leading independent technology advisers and suppliers. It is the fastest growing advanced railway technology business in the UK and supplies expertise in enhancing railway safety, performance and reliability. It is the only supplier to provide a complete portfolio of services and products - from advisor to provider, from economics to engineering and from track to train.
AEA Environment is a leading UK supplier of environmental and energy consultancy to governments, agencies, and industry. It provides technical and program management skills to transform data into information and ultimately into solutions. Its rapidly growing private sector business assists companies in complying with legislation and meeting their environmental obligations. In Canada, it provides essential support to the Ontario power generation and transmission markets.
In the USA, AEA has three subsidiary companies including AEA Technology Engineering Services Inc (ESI) headquartered in Pittsburgh, PA. ESI is the focal point for much of AEA's business with the Federal Government and has been a very successful contractor with the US Dept of Energy and the US Dept of Defense.
AEA Technology has annual revenues of ~£240 million ($430 million US) and employs 2,700 people across 50 locations worldwide.
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