Comparison of advanced nickel-cadmium space cell technology with other technologies in consideration for low Earth orbit, geosynchronous equitorial orbit and planetary missions

The Super NiCd/sup TM/ cell technology has found its way into a number of commercial and NASA applications and is performing as advertised. In recent reviews, there are documented instances of over 30 in orbit uses of this technology. A more cost-effective version of the cell, Magnum Nickel Cadmium technology has performed comparable to the Super NiCd/sup TM/ cell in cycle life testing and is available for a maiden flight application. A comparison in performance of the nickel cadmium technology with other technologies and their relative cost figures shows that nickel cadmium can be competitive with nickel hydrogen, nickel metal hydride and lithium-ion technology for a number of space applications.