Английская Википедия:BES-5
Шаблон:Short description Шаблон:More citations needed Шаблон:Infobox nuclear reactor BES-5, also known as Bouk or Buk (Шаблон:Lang-ru), was a Soviet thermoelectric generator that was used to power 31 satellites in the US-A (RORSAT) project. The heat source was a uranium 235 fast fission nuclear reactor (FNR).Шаблон:Citation needed
Background
Spacecraft nuclear reactors are typically fast reactors for the following reasons. First, normal moderator materials (carbon, water) add bulk and mass which is not desirable in a spacecraft. Second, for reasons of nucleonics the fuel must be highly enriched to have a lightweight critical mass (similar to small reactor designs on nuclear submarines). Note that some of the 238U (which is fertile and not fissile) will be converted to 239Pu during operation, and this is taken into consideration during the design and while estimating the power output and design life expectancy.
Reactor design
The design of the BES-5 FNR is such that a sub-critical assembly exists into which a rod of fissile material is inserted. Feedback and monitoring of the power level will keep the reactor delayed critical and not prompt critical, which can be done by a mechanical control system.Шаблон:Citation needed
The fuel core of the reactor was Шаблон:Val in diameter, Шаблон:Val long and weighed, as an assembly, Шаблон:Val,[1][2] and contained Шаблон:Val of enriched uranium. The entire reactor, including the radiation shielding, weighed Шаблон:Val.
The uranium fuel was more than 90% enriched 235U [3] and generated Шаблон:Val of electrical power[4] created by thermoelectric conversion of Шаблон:Val of thermal output.
Use in space
The BES-5 reactor was used in more than 31 satellite missions to power the radar units of the US-A surveillance satellites. The reactor was designed to be boosted to a high orbit at the end of its operational life, to prevent the radioactive fuel from re-entering Earth's atmosphere.Шаблон:Citation needed
There were several mishaps related to failures in the ejection system, most notably Kosmos 954, which scattered debris over Canada. Kosmos 1402 also re-entered the atmosphere, but burned up over the Atlantic Ocean, away from populated areas. Kosmos 1900 failed to reach its disposal orbit, and remains in low Earth orbit.Шаблон:Citation needed
See also
References
- ↑ Special illustrated presentation by the delegation of the Russian Federation at the XXXIII session of the scientific and technical subcommittee of COPOUS on collisions of nuclear power sources with space debris, Vienna, February 16, 1996
- ↑ Шаблон:Cite web
- ↑ G.M. Gryaznov, V.S. Nikolayev, V.I. Serbin, V.M. Tyugin, "Radiation safety of the space nuclear power systems and its realization on the satellite Cosmos-1900", Chapter 45 of the book Space Nuclear Power Systems 1989, Orbit Book Company, Malabar, Florida 1992,
- ↑ A.V Zrodnikov, V.Y Poupko, G.M. Gryaznov, "Experimental detection of neutron gas pressure on the control rods of a nuclear reactor under microgravity conditions", Proceedings of 11 th symposium on space nuclear power and propulsion, January 9–13, 1994, Albuquerque, American Institute of Physics, new York, 1994.
