This page has been validated.
31
energy to mechanical energy. The potassium is further cooled by flowing through the heat radiators and is then recycled back into the reactor.
The electrical current produced by the spinning turbine is directed to the two (for redundancy) energy storage systems located at either end of the main structural truss. The modules contain flywheels which store the energy in their spin rate, and also provide attitude control by absorbing external torques.
| Mass | |
| reactor | 500 kg |
| shielding | 830 kg |
| turbine | 230 kg |
| piping and miscellaneous | 680 kg |
| 8 flywheels | 3400 kg |
| flywheel motors, structure | 760 kg |
| Total mass | 6400 kg |
Power output is variable but will need to be a minimum of 250 kW during the in-system phase of the mission to power the communication lasers and computer.
