The Nuclear Cryogenic Propulsion Stage

Houts, Michael G.; Kim, Tony; Emrich, William; Hickman, Robert; Broadway, Jeramie; Gerrish, Harold P.; Belvin, Anthony; Borowski, Stanley K.; Scott, John Henry J.

doi:10.2514/6.2014-3724

Cited by 9 publications

(7 citation statements)

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“…The effort included two key tracks: "Foundational Technology Development" followed by "Technology Demonstration" projects. The Foundational Technology Development component continues today under NASA's AES program and the Nuclear Cryogenic Propulsion Stage (NCPS) project [32] which began in FY'12. This 3-year project is a collaboration between NASA and DOE and includes five key tasks and objectives:…”

Section: Figure 4 Coated Particle and Composite Snre Fuel Element Anmentioning

confidence: 99%

The Nuclear Thermal Propulsion Stage (NTPS): A Key Space Asset for Human Exploration and Commercial Missions to the Moon

Borowski

McCurdy²,

Burke

2013

AIAA SPACE 2013 Conference and Exposition

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The nuclear thermal rocket (NTR) has frequently been discussed as a key space asset that can bridge the gap between a sustained human presence on the Moon and the eventual human exploration of Mars. Recently, a human mission to a near Earth asteroid (NEA) has also been included as a "deep space precursor" to an orbital mission of Mars before a landing is attempted. In his "post-Apollo" Integrated Space Program Plan (1970 -1990), Wernher von Braun, proposed a reusable NTPS to deliver cargo and crew to the Moon to establish a lunar base initially before sending human missions to Mars. The NTR was selected because it was a proven technology capable of generating both high thrust and high specific impulse (I sp ~900 s) -twice that of today's best chemical rockets. During the Rover and NERVA programs, twenty rocket reactors were designed, built and successfully ground tested. These tests demonstrated the (1) thrust levels; (2) high fuel temperatures; (3) sustained operation; (4) accumulated lifetime; and (5) restart capability needed for an affordable in-space transportation system. In NASA's Mars Design Reference Architecture (DRA) 5.0 study, the "Copernicus" crewed NTR Mars transfer vehicle used three 25 klb f "Pewee" engines -the smallest and highest performing engine tested in the Rover program. Smaller lunar transfer vehicles -consisting of a NTPS with three ~16.7 klb f "SNRE-class" engines, an in-line propellant tank, plus the payload -can be delivered to LEO using a 70 t to LEO upgraded SLS, and can support reusable cargo delivery and crewed lunar landing missions. The NTPS can play an important role in returning humans to the Moon to stay by providing an affordable in-space transportation system that can allow initial lunar outposts to evolve into settlements capable of supporting commercial activities. Over the next decade collaborative efforts between NASA and private industry could open up new exploration and commercial opportunities for both organizations. With efficient NTP, commercial habitation and crew delivery systems, a "mobile cislunar research station" can transport crews to small NEAs delivered to the E-ML2 point. Also possible are week-long "lunar tourism" missions that can carry passengers into lunar orbit for sightseeing (and plenty of picture taking), then return them to Earth orbit where they would re-enter and land using a small reusable lifting body based on NASA's HL-20 design. Mission descriptions, key vehicle features and operational characteristics are described and presented. NomenclatureE-ML2 = Earth-Moon L2 Lagrange point K = temperature (degrees Kelvin) klb f = thrust (1000's of pounds force) LEO = Low Earth Orbit (= 407 km circular) LOX / LH 2 = Liquid Oxygen / Liquid Hydrogen propellant NERVA = Nuclear Engine for Rocket Vehicle Applications SLS / HLV = Space Launch System / Heavy Lift Vehicle SNRE = Small Nuclear Rocket Engine t = metric ton (1 t = 1000 kg) ΔV = velocity change increment (km/s) ---

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Section: Figure 4 Coated Particle and Composite Snre Fuel Element Anmentioning

confidence: 99%

The Nuclear Thermal Propulsion Stage (NTPS): A Key Space Asset for Human Exploration and Commercial Missions to the Moon

Borowski

McCurdy²,

Burke

2013

AIAA SPACE 2013 Conference and Exposition

Self Cite

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“…Investments and programs to prove the technical feasibility were successful, but these propulsion systems were never flown in space. Since the 1990s, many extensive analyses and experiments have been conducted for nuclear thermal propulsion for lunar and interplanetary missions and demonstrated important payload and trip time benefits [33][34][35].…”

Section: Ntp Options With Isrumentioning

confidence: 99%

Solar System Exploration Augmented by In Situ Resource Utilization: Lunar Base Issues

Palaszewski¹

2019

Lunar Science

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Creating a presence and an industrial capability on the Moon is essential for the development of humankind. There are many historical study results that have identified and quantified the lunar resources and analyzed the methods of obtaining and employing those resources. The idea of finding, obtaining, and using these materials is called in situ resource utilization (ISRU). The ISRU research and development efforts have led to new ideas in rocket propulsion. Applications in chemical propulsion, nuclear electric propulsion, and many other propulsion systems will be critical in making the initial lunar base and future lunar industries more sustainable and will lead to brilliant futures for humanity.

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“…Building upon a legacy of development for tungsten-based NTR fuel, NASA is focusing on the hot isostatic pressing (HIP) method of fuels fabrication, in which powders are placed inside a canister and then formed into fuel elements using high pressure and temperature [6]. This particular fabrication method focuses on pressing and holding together very small particles to produce fuel elements of higher density than previous fuel development projects.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…This particular fabrication method focuses on pressing and holding together very small particles to produce fuel elements of higher density than previous fuel development projects. Various methods for fuel failure testing are being carried out in conjunction with the fabrication effort, such as fuel element environment simulators, hot hydrogen facilities, and an arc heater [6][7][8].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Arcjet Ablation of Tungsten-Based Nuclear Rocket Fuel

Smith

Keidar

2015

Journal of Spacecraft and Rockets

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= flux of particles entering from outer boundary of layer, 1∕m 2 s G f = flux of particles crossing outer boundary of layer, 1∕m 2 s G r = flux of particles returned to surface during a time step, 1∕m 2 s G s = flux of particles entering from surface, 1∕m 2 s H lv = enthalpy of vaporization, J∕kg k B = Boltzmann's constant, m 2 kg∕s · K m W = mass of tungsten, kg N 0 = equilibrium density, at ablating surface, m −3 N 1 = density in hydrodynamic layer, m −3 N 2 = density of plasma bulk, m −3 P S = saturation pressure, Pa P 0 = ambient pressure, Pa R = specific gas constant, J∕mol · kg T s = surface temperature, K T 0 = equilibrium temperature at surface, K T 1 = temperature of backflux, K u = velocity to be divided by sound speed v 1 , m∕s V T = thermal velocity, m∕s V 0 = velocity at ablating surface, m∕s V 1 = velocity of backflux, m∕s V 2 = velocity of plasma bulk, m∕s α = Mach number β = proportionality coefficient λ = mean free path, m τ = thermal conduction parameter

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The Nuclear Cryogenic Propulsion Stage

Cited by 9 publications

References 0 publications

The Nuclear Thermal Propulsion Stage (NTPS): A Key Space Asset for Human Exploration and Commercial Missions to the Moon

The Nuclear Thermal Propulsion Stage (NTPS): A Key Space Asset for Human Exploration and Commercial Missions to the Moon

Solar System Exploration Augmented by In Situ Resource Utilization: Lunar Base Issues

Arcjet Ablation of Tungsten-Based Nuclear Rocket Fuel

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