Advanced Propulsion for the XXIst Century

Frisbee, Robert H.

doi:10.2514/6.2003-2589

Cited by 7 publications

(7 citation statements)

References 41 publications

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“…Some of these systems have advocated continuous power budgets on the order of 1 PW, which are comparable to the capacity of all civilization [27] [28]. Laser propelled light sails require years of focused targeting.…”

Section: Feasibility Of Photofission Pulsed Space Propulsionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Fundamental Architecture and Performance Analysis of Photofission Pulsed Space Propulsion System Using Ultra-Intense Laser

LeMoyne¹,

Mastroianni²

2015

JAMP

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Photofission enables a unique capability for the domain of non-chemical space propulsion. An ultra-intense laser enables the capacity to induce nuclear fission through the development of bremsstrahlung photons. A fundamental architecture and performance analysis of a photofission pulsed space propulsion system through the operation of an ultra-intense laser is presented. A historical perspective of previous conceptual nuclear fission propulsion systems is addressed. These applications use neutron derived nuclear fission; however, there is inherent complexity that has precluded further development. The background of photofission is detailed. The conceptual architecture of photofission pulsed space propulsion and fundamental performance parameters are established. The implications are the energy source and ultra-intense laser can be situated far remote from the propulsion system. Advances in supporting laser technologies are anticipated to increase the potential for photofission pulsed space propulsion. The fundamental performance analysis of the photofission pulsed space propulsion system indicates the architecture is feasible for further evaluation.

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Section: Feasibility Of Photofission Pulsed Space Propulsionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Fundamental Architecture and Performance Analysis of Photofission Pulsed Space Propulsion System Using Ultra-Intense Laser

LeMoyne¹,

Mastroianni²

2015

JAMP

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“…The positron and the antiproton constitute two different classes of antimatter. The positron annihilates with an accompanying electron, yielding two gamma ray photons on the scale of 1.02 MeV [11][12][13]. The positron was discovered in 1936 [14].…”

Section: Previous Antimatter Propulsion Architecturesmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Neutral pions quickly decay into approximately 200 MeV by gamma radiation [15]. A portion of the resultant pions is charged [12] [15]- [18]. The decay pathway for the charged pions results in muons and neutrinos [16] [18].…”

Section: Previous Antimatter Propulsion Architecturesmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Fundamental Architecture and Analysis of an Antimatter Ultra-Intense Laser Derived Pulsed Space Propulsion System

Moyne¹,

Mastroianni²

2014

JAMP

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Antimatter has been generated in large quantities by the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory Titan laser. The Titan laser is an ultra-intense laser system on the order of approximately 10 20 W/cm 2 with pulse durations of roughly 1ps. With the Titan laser incident on a high atomic number target, such as gold, antimatter on the scale of 2 × 10 10 positrons are generated. Roughly 90% of the generated positrons are ejected anisotropic and aft to the respective target. The mechanisms for the laser-derived positron antimatter generation involve electron interaction with the nuclei based on bremsstrahlung photons that yield electron-positron pairs as a consequence of the Bethe-Heitler process, which predominates the Trident process. Given the constraints of the current and near future technology space, a pulsed space propulsion configuration is advocated for antimatter derived space propulsion, similar in concept to pulsed radioisotope propulsion. Antimatter is generated through an ultra-intense laser on the scale of a Titan laser incident on a gold target and annihilated in a closed chamber, representative of a combustion chamber. Upon reaching a temperature threshold, the closed chamber opens, producing a pulse of thrust. The implication of the pulsed space propulsion antimatter architecture is that the energy source for the antimatter propulsion system can be decoupled from the actual spacecraft. In contrast to conventional chemical propulsion systems, which require storage of its respective propulsive chemical potential energy, the proposed antimatter propulsion architecture may have the energy source at a disparate location from the spacecraft. The ultra-intense laser could convey its laser energy over a distance to the actual spacecraft equipped with the positron antimatter pulsed space propulsion system. Hydrogen is considered as the propulsive fluid, in light of its low molecular weight. Fundamental analysis is applied to preliminarily define the performance of the positron antimatter derived pulsed space propulsion system. The fundamental performance analysis of the antimatter pulsed space propulsion system successfully reveals the architecture is viable for further evaluation.

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“…Since they use less propellant over longer time periods than high thrust BNTR propulsion, they are ideal for low thrust and low ΔV mission applications 6 . This makes EP an attractive candidate in tandem with BNTR propulsion for missions to near Earth asteroids.…”

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confidence: 99%

A Crewed Mission to Apophis Using a Hybrid Bimodal Nuclear Thermal Electric Propulsion (BNTEP) System

McCurdy¹,

Borowski

Burke

et al. 2014

50th AIAA/ASME/SAE/ASEE Joint Propulsion Conference

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A BNTEP system is a dual propellant, hybrid propulsion concept that utilizes Bimodal Nuclear Thermal Rocket (BNTR) propulsion during high thrust operations, providing 10's of kilo-Newtons of thrust per engine at a high specific impulse (I sp ) of 900 s, and an Electric Propulsion (EP) system during low thrust operations at even higher I sp of around 3000 s. Electrical power for the EP system is provided by the BNTR engines in combination with a Brayton Power Conversion (BPC) closed loop system, which can provide electrical power on the order of 100's of kW e . High thrust BNTR operation uses liquid hydrogen (LH 2 ) as reactor coolant propellant expelled out a nozzle, while low thrust EP uses high pressure xenon expelled by an electric grid. By utilizing an optimized combination of low and high thrust propulsion, significant mass savings over a conventional NTR vehicle can be realized. Low thrust mission events, such as midcourse corrections (MCC), tank settling burns, some reaction control system (RCS) burns, and even a small portion at the end of the departure burn can be performed with EP. Crewed and robotic deep space missions to a near Earth asteroid (NEA) are best suited for this hybrid propulsion approach. For these mission scenarios, the Earth return ΔV is typically small enough that EP alone is sufficient. A crewed mission to the NEA Apophis in the year 2028 with an expendable BNTEP transfer vehicle is presented. Assembly operations, launch element masses, and other key characteristics of the vehicle are described. A comparison with a conventional NTR vehicle performing the same mission is also provided. Finally, reusability of the BNTEP transfer vehicle is explored.Nomenclature D x L = diameter by length ΔV = delta-velocity or change in velocity He-Xe = Helium-Xenon klb f = thrust (1000 pounds force) km/m/kg = kilometers/meters/kilogram kW e /kJ = kilowatts electrical/kilojoules NASA = National Aeronautics and Space Administration psi = pounds per square inch s = seconds t = metric ton (1 t = 1000 kg) UO 2 -W = Uranium dioxide-Tungsten UC-ZrC = Uranium carbide-Zirconium carbide composite

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Advanced Propulsion for the XXIst Century

Cited by 7 publications

References 41 publications

Fundamental Architecture and Performance Analysis of Photofission Pulsed Space Propulsion System Using Ultra-Intense Laser

Fundamental Architecture and Performance Analysis of Photofission Pulsed Space Propulsion System Using Ultra-Intense Laser

Fundamental Architecture and Analysis of an Antimatter Ultra-Intense Laser Derived Pulsed Space Propulsion System

A Crewed Mission to Apophis Using a Hybrid Bimodal Nuclear Thermal Electric Propulsion (BNTEP) System

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