Future Spacecraft Propulsion Systems and Integration

Czysz, Paul A.; Bruno, Claudio; Chudoba, Bernd

doi:10.1007/978-3-662-54744-1

Cited by 24 publications

(13 citation statements)

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“…In contrast, measurement and description of radiation effects on humans is a still evolving field dominated the stochastic nature of the effects [5]. Particles interact with the human body by depositing energy.…”

Section: Space Radiation and Space Health Issuesmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Systems based on the Lorentz force, for instance, Hall electric thrusters, are also commercially available. A detailed discussion of nuclear propulsion is in [5,14].…”

Section: Nuclear Propulsionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The rate of recombination depends on the product of densities of reacting species, that is on (pressure) 5 .…”

Section: Nuclear Propulsionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Mars One-Year Mission Craft

2023

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A human Mars mission is more challenging to astronauts than the Apollo mission because of travel time, life support requirements, and the space environment. Although plans for Mars exploration by NASA and SpaceX based on conventional rockets have been presented, there are considerations that suggest alternatives for the mid- or long-term. The purpose of this paper is to outline a fast mission enabled by advanced (nuclear) propulsion and by internationally shared technology. Whether the destination is the Mars surface or Phobos, for a chemical powered spacecraft, the round trip takes about 990 days, including a 480-day surface stay, compared to only 370 days, including a 41-day surface stay, for the nuclear-powered spacecraft assumed here. Since nuclear propulsion can provide higher speed than chemical, the radiation dose can be drastically reduced. The logistics of such a mission involve one or more cargo craft that must precede the astronauts. Ballistic entry into Mars’ atmosphere depends on accurate knowledge of its features, to date poorly known, that may result in uncertainty in landing coordinates. For a single vehicle, this is not critical, but for a human crew ballistic landing kilometers away from cargo is unacceptable: walking for anything but the shortest distance cannot be afforded with current space suits. In this context, the concept of a modest L/D maneuvering cargo glider based on the past Russian “Kliper” is recommended and developed to ensure landing within a hundred meters of each spacecraft. The crewed lander vehicle is based on the high L/D, inherently stable USAF FDL-7C/D hypersonic glider experience. In a similar approach, an exploration vehicle powered by in situ manufactured CO2 and silane is described that can explore the Martian surface much faster and efficiently than with rovers or rocket-powered ‘hoppers’.

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Section: Space Radiation and Space Health Issuesmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Systems based on the Lorentz force, for instance, Hall electric thrusters, are also commercially available. A detailed discussion of nuclear propulsion is in [5,14].…”

Section: Nuclear Propulsionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Mars One-Year Mission Craft

2023

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“…Shielding using in situ planetary resources has large potential considering that the weight limits do not apply and that, in principle, humans can establish bases in deep pits, caves, or lava tubes [64]. This implies that the most effective countermeasure will be reducing the transit time i.e., innovative propulsion [65]. There is a general agreement that a mission to Mars cannot rely on chemical propulsion, and innovative strategies should be pursued, namely:…”

Section: Countermeasuresmentioning

confidence: 99%

Dose Limits and Countermeasures for Mitigating Radiation Risk in Moon and Mars Exploration

Boscolo

Durante

2022

Physics

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After decades of research on low-Earth orbit, national space agencies and private entrepreneurs are investing in exploration of the Solar system. The main health risk for human space exploration is late toxicity caused by exposure to cosmic rays. On Earth, the exposure of radiation workers is regulated by dose limits and mitigated by shielding and reducing exposure times. For space travel, different international space agencies adopt different limits, recently modified as reviewed in this paper. Shielding and reduced transit time are currently the only practical solutions to maintain acceptable risks in deep space missions.

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“…The L/D ratio is the most important parameter driving hypersonic flight range. Generally speaking, as speed increases past M = 1, the aerodynamic lift coefficient CL diminishes while drag increases and, past M ~ 3, L/D drops rapidly: Figure 1 shows aerodynamic test data for the maximum L/D (as a function of the angle of attack) starting at M = 3, together with two theoretical curves developed by Küchemann [3][4][5] in the 1970s. Both are partially satisfactory, in the sense that the theoretical curves fit only parts of the data, and the data themselves are scattered.…”

Section: Cruisersmentioning

confidence: 99%

Some Key Issues in Hypersonic Propulsion

Bruno

Ingenito

2021

Energies

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This paper summarizes and discusses some critical aspects of flying hypersonically. The first is the L/D (lift over drag) ratio determining thrust and that in turn depends on the slenderness Küchemann’s τ parameter. This second parameter is found to depend on the relative importance of wave versus friction drag. Ultimately, all engineering drag is argued to depend on vorticity formed at the expense of the vehicle kinetic energy, thus requiring work by thrust. Different mixing strategies are discussed and shown to depend also on mechanisms forming vorticity when the regime is compressible. Supersonic combustion is briefly analyzed and found, at sufficiently high combustor Mach, to take place locally at constant volume, unlike conventional Brayton cycles.

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Future Spacecraft Propulsion Systems and Integration

Cited by 24 publications

References 0 publications

Mars One-Year Mission Craft

Mars One-Year Mission Craft

Dose Limits and Countermeasures for Mitigating Radiation Risk in Moon and Mars Exploration

Some Key Issues in Hypersonic Propulsion

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