Flywheel Energy Storage System

The goal of this project is to design a flywheel energy storage system (FES) for a potential lunar mission to be conducted by NASA.

Background
One of the problems a potential lunar mission faces is energy generation and storage. While both solar and nuclear power generation are options, they do have drawbacks. Generating electricity using solar power would not be possible during the approximately 14-day lunar night, and nuclear power generation would have to decrease during the lunar day due to heat. As a result of these drawbacks, an efficient method of storing energy would be needed to ensure the success of any planned lunar mission. The University of Idaho has put forward the idea of using a FES system to accomplish this. FES is advantageous due to its high energy density and long lifespan compared to other methods of energy storage.

Team Bios
The 'Fly Rollers' team contributed to this project from Fall 2015 - Spring 2016 and was primarily responsible for wiring the FES system and getting it spinning in a controlled manner. The team consisted of the following members:

Additional Documentation