Space
History
Fuel cells have been used for US manned space flight beginning with the Gemini program in the early 1960s, the Apollo program during the 1970s, and continuing through the Space Shuttle program from the early 1980s to the early 2010s. They provided both power and drinking water and used hydrogen and oxygen reactants that were readily available. Collectively, current and former Infinity® team members have worked on all of those programs.
RECENT MISSIONS:
- NASA Glenn Research Center STMD Funded Tipping Point Fuel Cell Program
- Blue Origin Flight New Shepard NS-23 in September 2022 – Successful Fuel Cell System Operation during the flight anomaly
- Blue Origin Flight New Shepard NS-24 in December 2023 – Successful Fuel Cell System Operation during the entire Sub-orbital flight
- Tipping Point Fuel Cell Successes:
- Demonstrate Infinity’s proprietary passive water removal technology in a zero-g environment
- Continuous autonomous operation of the 7-Cell 150 cm2 active area 500-Watt Fuel Cell in a storage locker
- Demonstrate performance of a autonomous Control System via command signals from New Shepard Payload Controller
- Successful performance during EMI, Shock, Vibration and Thermal testing
- Infinity receives NASA Award for the Program and Infinity’s Fuel Cell System earns TRL 7 status
FUTURE MISSIONS:
– Infinity is working with the NASA Glenn Research Center to provide the fuel cell component for a Lunar Regenerative Fuel Cell (RFC) system designed to power a moon base through the 14-day long lunar night.
– Infinity is actively working on fuel cell and electrolyzer technology for crewed space missions.
FUTURE MISSIONS
Crew Module
The requirements for providing power and breathable air to crew quarters on space stations have not changed since the Gemini days. It’s essential that the power system be reliable, efficient, and redundant for manned crew modules. A tremendous benefit of fuel cell systems is that they can produce enough water for the crew. At 1 kg/L (8.34 lb/gal), generating this water as a by-product from the hydrogen and oxygen onboard is a huge weight savings at launch. That same water can be recycled and electrolyzed to produce breathable oxygen for life support and hydrogen for orbit boost.
Rovers
Infinity has developed fuel cell power solutions for rover demonstrations for two NASA facilities: Glenn Research Center and Johnson Space Center. These demonstrations have been performed in vehicle platforms representative of actual applications and run through traditional mission profiles.
Lunar / Martian Base
The ability to live on another orbiting body, processing local materials in-situ to develop more permanent human presence has long been a dream of the space program. Regenerative fuel cell power and energy systems have long been an option for facilitating this effort. Infinity’s team has a long history in the development of these systems.
