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Completed TRL 4 (started at 4, targeting 4)
Direct Kinetic Solutions (DKS) proposes the development of a modular radioisotopic power source (RPS) to enhance the current state of the art offering, which is a combination of chemical batteries and solar arrays in the small satellite market. These power sources contain and energy density that is orders of magnitude superior to the one offered by commercially available chemical batteries. The difference between these power sources and traditionally used RTGs is that our devices convert the energy directly when using beta emitting isotope, and leverage a phosphor when using alpha emitting ones, The RPS are compact (the cell can be as little as .5cm x .5cm), lightweight, and will fit into the side panel on the structure of a CubeSat. We expect the RPS devices can be used to power critical systems independently, or can be connected in multiples to become a significant power source for the main electric power system of the spacecraft. We believe that they can be used in other applications such as lunar expiration as they can generate power in extremely low temperatures, or be used as power alternatives for complex systems in deep space exploration.
DKS believes the main application for NASA will be on the development of small satellites. Once that application has been demonstrated, they can go into different equipment, such as rovers for lunar exploration, given their characteristics.
The company expects the commercial application to be similar to NASA: an enhancement to the currently used battery and solar array system. Small satellites swarms have been increasing and this tendency is expected to continue. Space partners such as SpaceX and Blue Origin can benefit greatly form the technology.
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