Production of Pu-238 Oxide Fuel for Space Exploration

The Savannah River Site (SRS) made significant contributions to NASA space missions via the heat source programs that provide electrical power to satellites traveling outside of earth orbit. Electrical power was supplied by converting heat from the radioactive decay of plutonium-238. The Site produced the Pu-238 in its reactors, separated the plutonium in the canyon facilities, and, for the Multi-Hundred Watt and General Purpose Heat Source programs, formed plutonium oxide into pellets and encapsulated the pellets in the Building 235-F Plutonium Fuel Form Facility (PuFF). Technological innovations were behind the success of each of these steps in production. Using Pu-238 produced at SRS has allowed U.S. satellites to explore the solar system and beyond, sending remarkable pictures back to earth. Plutonium produced at SRS has powered 26 space missions. This report particularly addresses the technology for fabrication of plutonium oxide pellets and encapsulation of these pellets. Plutonium oxide pellets produced and encapsulated at SRS are now powering the Galileo satellite presently circling Jupiter and the Ulysses satellite presently in a polar orbit around the sun.