Technical Paper
Performance of INTELSAT V Ni-H2 Batteries in Orbit (1983-1991)
1992-08-03
929090
The INTELSAT V Spacecraft F-6 (launched in 1983) was the first geosynchronous earth orbit (GEO) satellite to use Ni-H2 batteries. Since then, seven more of these INTELSAT V satellites (F-7, F-8, F-10, F-11, F-12, F-13, and F-15) have been successfully launched with Ni-H2 batteries. The last one, F-15, was launched in the spring of 1989. Two 27-cell 30-Ah batteries are used on each INTELSAT V spacecraft. A description of these batteries is presented, including the cell design features and the mechanical, thermal, and electrical design features of the battery. The batteries in the first six spacecraft are discharged to 56 percent depth-of-discharge (DOD) during eclipse periods, and the batteries in the last two spacecraft to 67 percent DOD. Performance data are presented for these batteries from the time they were launched through the Fall eclipse season 1991.
