[Federal Register Volume 69, Number 78 (Thursday, April 22, 2004)]
[Notices]
[Pages 21867-21868]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 04-9131]


-----------------------------------------------------------------------

NATIONAL AERONAUTICS AND SPACE ADMINISTRATION

[Notice 04-053]


National Environmental Policy Act; Development of Advanced 
Radioisotope Power Systems

AGENCY: National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA).

ACTION: Notice of intent to prepare a Tier I Environmental Impact 
Statement (EIS) and to conduct scoping for the development of advanced 
Radioisotope Power Systems.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------

SUMMARY: Pursuant to the National Environmental Policy Act of 1969 
(NEPA), as amended (42 U.S.C. 4321 et seq.), the Council on 
Environmental Quality Regulations for Implementing the Procedural 
Provisions of NEPA (40 CFR parts 1500-1508), and NASA's policy and 
procedures (14 CFR subpart 1216.3), NASA intends to conduct scoping and 
to prepare a Tier I EIS for the development of advanced Radioisotope 
Power Systems (RPSs). NASA, in cooperation with the U.S. Department of 
Energy (DOE), proposes to develop in the near-term two types of 
advanced RPSs to satisfy a wide of range of future space exploration 
mission requirements. These advanced RPSs would both be capable of 
functioning in the vacuum of space and in the environments encountered 
on the surfaces of planets, moons and other solar system bodies. These 
new power systems would be based upon a modified version of the General 
Purpose Heat Source (GPHS) previously developed by DOE and used in the 
Radioisotope Thermoelectric Generators (RTGs) for NASA's Galileo, 
Ulysses, and Cassini missions. This modification would add additional 
graphite material to the graphite aeroshell. The GPHS-based advanced 
RPSs would be capable of providing long-term, reliable electrical power 
to spacecraft across the range of conditions encountered in space and 
planetary surface missions.
    The Tier 1 EIS will also address in general terms the development 
and qualification for flight of advanced RPSs that use passive or 
dynamic systems to convert the heat generated from the decay of 
plutonium to electrical energy, and related long-term research and 
development of technologies that could further enhance the capability 
of future RPS systems. The Multi-Mission Radioisotope Thermoelectric 
Generator (MMRTG) and Stirling Radioisotope Generator (SRG) development 
activity would include, but not necessarily be limited to: (1) New 
power conversion technologies to more efficiently use the heat energy 
from the GPHS module, and (2) improving the versatility of the RPS so 
that it would be capable of operating for extended periods in the 
vacuum of space and in planetary atmospheres. Specific future 
developments of a new generation of space qualified RPSs (e.g., more 
efficient systems than the proposed MMRTG or SRG, or systems with 
smaller electrical power output) would be the subject of separate Tier 
II environmental documentation.
    DOE will be a cooperating agency in the preparation of this Tier 1 
EIS.

DATES: Interested parties are invited to submit comments on 
environmental concerns in writing on or before June 7, 2004, to assure 
full consideration during the scoping process.

ADDRESSES: Comments should be addressed to Dr. George Schmidt, NASA 
Headquarters, Code S, Washington, DC 20546-0001. While hardcopy 
comments are preferred, comments may be sent by electronic mail to: 
[email protected].

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Dr. George Schmidt, NASA Headquarters, 
Code S, Washington, DC 20546-0001, by telephone at 202-358-0113, or by 
electronic mail at [email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: NASA's future scientific exploration of the 
solar system is planned to include missions throughout the solar system 
and potential missions to the surfaces of planets, moons and other 
planetary bodies. Many of these missions cannot be accomplished with 
current energy production and storage technologies available to NASA, 
such as batteries, solar arrays, fuel cells, and the existing 
radioisotope power system (the GPHS RTG). To enable this broad range of 
missions, NASA is proposing to develop in the near-term, two types of 
RPSs capable of functioning both in the vacuum of space and in the 
environments encountered on the surfaces of planets, moons and other 
planetary bodies.
    NASA proposes to develop these advanced RPSs to enable missions 
with substantial longevity, flexibility, and greater scientific 
exploration capability. Some possibilities are:
     Comprehensive and detailed planetary 
investigations and creating comparative data sets of the outer 
planets--Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, Neptune and Pluto and their moons. 
The knowledge gained with these data sets would be vital to 
understanding other recently discovered planetary systems and general 
principles of planetary formation.
     Comprehensive exploration of the surfaces and 
interiors of comets, possibly including returned samples to better 
understand the building blocks of our solar system and ingredients 
contributing to the origin of life.
     Expanded capabilities for surface and on-orbit 
exploration, and sample return missions to Mars and other planetary 
bodies (including the Earth's moon) to greatly improve our 
understanding of planetary processes, particularly those affecting the 
potential for life.
    The current DOE radioisotope power system, the GPHS RTG, does not 
meet these new or evolving mission requirements. The heat-to-
electricity converter for the existing RTG produces about 285 watts of 
electrical power, but it is not designed to perform for an extended 
period in planetary atmospheres such as that on Mars. The two new 
proposed types of RPSs would be developed to meet the diverse needs of 
future NASA space exploration missions.
    Near-term advanced RPS development would focus on two power 
systems, the MMRTG and the SRG. The MMRTG would build upon the 
spaceflight-proven passive thermoelectric power conversion technology 
incorporating improvements to allow extended operation in planetary 
atmospheres. For the SRG, NASA would develop a new space-qualified 
dynamic power conversion system, a Stirling engine, that would more 
efficiently convert the heat from

[[Page 21868]]

the decay of plutonium into electrical power and therefore use less 
plutonium to generate comparable amounts of electrical power. Both of 
these systems would provide up to about 100 watts of electric power and 
would be capable of functioning both in the vacuum of space and in the 
environments encountered on the surfaces of the planets, moons and 
other bodies. Differences in SRG and MMRTG mechanical and thermal 
interfaces would allow a broad range of mission specific spacecraft 
designs. More than one MMRTG or SRG could be integrated with a 
spacecraft to provide power levels exceeding 100 watts electrical.
    This Tier I EIS will address in broad terms the technology 
development activities of NASA, DOE, and the industrial contractors 
involved in:
     Development and testing of advanced RPSs through 
final design, testing, and fabrication of flight qualified SRGs and 
MMRTGs, and
     Long-term research and development of 
technologies that could enhance the capabilities of future radioisotope 
power systems (e.g., systems that convert heat into electricity more 
efficiently and smaller systems).
    It is anticipated that development and test activities involving 
use of radioisotopes would be performed at existing DOE sites that 
currently perform similar activities. Fuel processing and fabrication 
would likely occur at existing facilities at Los Alamos National 
Laboratory (LANL) in Los Alamos, New Mexico, which are currently used 
for the fabrication of the fuel for the GPHS modules. Advanced RPS 
assembly and testing would likely be performed at Argonne National 
Laboratory--West (west of Idaho Falls, Idaho). These activities were 
previously carried out at DOE's Mound, Ohio facility. Additional safety 
testing of an integrated advanced RPS could be performed at one or more 
of several existing facilities; including DOE facilities such as LANL 
and Sandia National Laboratory (Albuquerque, New Mexico) or the U.S. 
Army's Aberdeen Proving Grounds (Aberdeen, Maryland). Activities 
associated with the development, testing, and verification of the power 
conversion systems could be performed at several existing facilities 
including some NASA facilities (Glenn Research Center at Lewis Field, 
Cleveland, Ohio; and the Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, 
California) and several commercial facilities (Boeing Rocketdyne, 
Canoga Park, California; Teledyne Energy Systems, Hunt Valley, 
Maryland; Stirling Technology Corporation, Kennewick, Washington; and 
Lockheed Martin, Valley Forge, Pennsylvania).
    NASA plans to address the environmental impacts of the development 
and use of Advanced RPSs through a two-tiered NEPA process. This Tier I 
EIS will address the proposed development, overall purpose and need for 
the development of advanced RPSs, development, testing and fabrication 
of the MMRTG and SRG. This Tier 1 EIS will also address proposed 
research and development work regarding technologies that could further 
enhance the capabilities of future RPSs. Specific future developments 
of a new generation of space qualified RPSs (e.g., more efficient 
systems than the proposed MMRTG or SRG, or systems with smaller 
electrical power output) would be the subject of separate Tier II 
environmental documentation, as appropriate, using the most pertinent 
data and analysis directly related to those developments. Mission-
specific use of any of these RPSs would be subject to separate 
environmental documentation.
    Alternatives to be considered in this Tier I EIS will include, but 
will not necessarily be limited to the No Action Alternative, by which 
NASA would not pursue development of advanced RPSs.
    Written public input and comments on alternatives and environmental 
impacts, and concerns associated with the development of advanced RPSs 
are hereby requested.

Jeffrey E. Sutton,
Assistant Administrator for Institutional and Corporate Management.
[FR Doc. 04-9131 Filed 4-21-04; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 7510-01-P