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Transport vehicle for manned Mars missions powered by inertial confinement fusion

Description: Inertial confinement fusion (ICF) is an ideal engine power source for manned spacecraft to Mars because of its inherently high power-to-mass ratios and high specific impulses. We have produced a concept for a vehicle powered by ICF and utilizing a magnetic thrust chamber to avoid plasma thermalization with wall structures and the resultant degradation of specific impulse that are unavoidable with the use of mechanical thrust chambers. This vehicle is capable of 100-day manned Mars missions with… more
Date: June 26, 1987
Creator: Orth, C.D.; Klein, G.; Sercel, J.; Hoffman, N.; Murray, K. & Chang-Diaz, F.
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
open access

Space nuclear power system and the design of the nuclear electric propulsion OTV

Description: Payload increases of three to five times that of the Shuttle/Centaur can be achieved using nuclear electric propulsion. Various nuclear power plant options being pursued by the SP-100 Program are described. These concepts can grow from 100 kW/sub e/ to 1MW/sub e/ output. Spacecraft design aspects are addressed, including thermal interactions, plume interactions, and radiation fluences. A baseline configuration is described accounting for these issues. Safety aspects of starting the OTV transfer… more
Date: January 1, 1984
Creator: Buden, D. & Garrison, P.W.
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
open access

PEGASUS: a multi-megawatt nuclear electric propulsion system

Description: With the Space Transportation System (STS), the advent of space station Columbus and the development of expertise at working in space that this will entail, the gateway is open to the final frontier. The exploration of this frontier is possible with state-of-the-art hydrogen/oxygen propulsion but would be greatly enhanced by the higher specific impulse of electric propulsion. This paper presents a concept that uses a multi-megawatt nuclear power plant to drive an electric propulsion system. The… more
Date: June 1, 1985
Creator: Coomes, Edmund P.; Cuta, Judith M.; Webb, Brent J. & King, David Q.
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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