Lithium-ion batteries are a feasible solution to store energy efficiently. However, in safety-critical environments such as the suborbital rockets, the introduced technologies do not may compromise safety. This research explores the possibility of replacing Ni-MH batteries with Li-ion batteries. However, before replacing technologies, the reliability of Li-ion cells needs to be evaluated, and the potential benefits must be considered against the risks to ensure the mission’s success. The main objective is to ensure the safety and integrity of suborbital missions during the technology transition. To assess the technology exchange, a method where the battery cell experiences a sequence of tests that cover aspects of safety encountered during the vehicle missions, such as vacuum, capacity, short circuit behavior, over-current discharge, behavior at higher environment temperature, and pulsed discharge behavior. To experience the proposed method, two Li-ion cells commercial off-the-shelf (COTS) from different manufacturers are evaluated. The results indicated that only one of the two cell models evaluated can substitute the Ni-MH. This research concludes that replacing Ni-MH cells with Li-ion cells is feasible, for such an application. The proposed acceptance flow design based on the test collectively validates the replacement, showing that the Li-ion cells can offer reliability, safety, and efficiency to suborbital vehicles to fulfill this mission profile.

锂离子电池是有效存储能量的可行解决方案。然而，在亚轨道火箭等安全关键环境中，引入的技术不会损害安全性。这项研究探讨了用锂离子电池替代镍氢电池的可能性。然而，在更换技术之前，需要评估锂离子电池的可靠性，并且必须考虑潜在收益与风险，以确保任务成功。主要目标是确保技术过渡期间亚轨道任务的安全性和完整性。为了评估技术交换，电池单元经历了一系列测试，涵盖车辆任务期间遇到的安全方面，例如真空、容量、短路行为、过流放电、较高环境温度下的行为以及脉冲放电行为。为了体验所提出的方法，对来自不同制造商的两种商业现货 (COTS) 锂离子电池进行了评估。结果表明，所评估的两种电池模型中只有一种可以替代镍氢电池。本研究得出的结论是，对于此类应用，用锂离子电池替代镍氢电池是可行的。基于测试的拟议验收流程设计共同验证了替代品，表明锂离子电池可以为亚轨道飞行器提供可靠性、安全性和效率，以完成这一任务。