Passively cooled superconductors in space

The Earth’s atmosphere and magnetic field provide protection to its inhabitants from the cosmic background radiation and solar wind, and coronal mass ejections that would be damaging to living organisms. As we seek to go beyond our home for extended periods, a protection system is needed to shield us from damaging particle radiation. The simplest method of protection is to put a bunch of material between the astronauts and the radiation. On the lunar surface, this would require the astronauts construct thick-walled habitats and limit their time outside. While an active radiation protection design using superconductors would enable more “outdoor” time. Solar white has the potential to be an enabling technology to make superconductor in space use feasible.

The objective of this project is to demonstrate the ability of solar white materials developed at KSC to maintain cold enough temperatures to enable use of high temperature superconductors in space 1 AU and beyond from the sun. This project explored a method of passive cooling that would allow superconductors to be used in space without a complex and heavy cooling infrastructure enabling them to be used in applications like radiation shielding and efficient spacecraft energy management. Both the tile and spray-on versions of solar white were investigated. We focused on finding a version that could support passive cooling at 1 AU from the Sun and determined the closest operating distances for samples that were unable to perform at 1 AU. Early in the project, we selected bismuth strontium calcium copper oxide (BSCCO), form of Bi-2223, as the HTS to test based on its reputable usage in superconducting wires. Bi-2223 has a critical temperature of about 108 K.

There is no good solution to protect astronauts from the high energy particles coming from the Sun and the background of the cosmos (from exploding stars) for long duration missions. The longer the mission, the larger the risk is to the astronaut for cellular damage and cancer formation. As we step out into our solar backyard, we will need improved methods of protecting our explorers.

This project supports NASA’s Space Technology Mission Directorate’s “Explore” thrust area by making long duration travel safer for astronauts via an active radiation shield and enabling higher efficiency power storage and delivery. The galactic cosmic radiation and coronal mass ejections are harmful to astronauts while outside the Earth’s magnetic field. A long superconductor loop with current running through it generates a magnetic field that could be used as part of a system to steer harmful ionizing radiation away from the astronauts. Another significant benefit is that a superconductor has no resistance, meaning it may also be used for lossless energy storage or delivery. Additionally, they have a very high-power density, a high energy density, the fastest available charging and discharging times, and the highest possible number of charge/ discharge cycles (infinite) when compared to other conventional energy storage and power delivery options.

Superconductors provide a highly efficient method for generating magnetic fields capable of shielding astronauts like the Earth’s magnetic field. Superconductors typically require a substantial (and heavy) infrastructure to keep them cool enough to maintain their superconductivity. Fortunately, our “Solar White” coatings offer a potential method of passively cooling certain high temperature superconductors and thereby obviating the need for a separate complex cooling system.

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