Nuclear Space Power and Propulsion Systems

303 Pages·2008·37.144 MB·English

by  C. Bruno

Nuclear Space Power
and Propulsion Systems
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Nuclear Space Power
and Propulsion Systems
Edited by
Claudio Bruno
University of Rome “La Sapienza”
Rome, Italy
Volume 225
PROGRESS IN
ASTRONAUTICS AND AERONAUTICS
Frank K. Lu, Editor-in-Chief
University of Texas at Arlington
Arlington, Texas
Published by the
American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics, Inc.
1801 Alexander Bell Drive, Reston, Virginia 20191-4344
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ISBN 978-1-56347-951-9
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Progress in Astronautics and Aeronautics
Editor-in-Chief
Frank K. Lu
University of Texas at Arlington
Editorial Board
David A. Bearden Eswar Josyula
The Aerospace Corporation U.S. Air Force Research Laboratory
John D. Binder Abdollah Khodadoust
viaSolutions The Boeing Company
Steven A. Brandt Gail Klein
U.S. Air Force Academy Jet Propulsion Laboratory
Richard Curran Richard C. Lind
Queen’s University of Belfast University of Florida
Fred R. DeJarnette Frank Pai
North Carolina State University University of Missouri—Columbia
Georg Eitelberg Ning Qin
German–Dutch Wind Tunnels University of Sheffi eld
Sanjay Garg Oleg Yakimenko
NASA Glenn Research Center U.S. Naval Postgraduate School
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Foreword
This book is the outcome of a study proposed by M. Marcel Pouliquen of
SNECMA (now SAFRAN-SNECMA) and prepared for Commission 3 (Space
Technology and System Development) of the International Academy of
Astronautics (IAA). The intended goal was to provide, in one place, fundamental,
technical, and safety information about nuclear power and propulsion systems for
space applications. After the proposal was accepted by Commission 3, Study 3.2
was established. The members of the study group and Commission 3 agreed to
place emphasis on the status of nuclear technology for future, but not futuristic,
interplanetary missions, including manned missions, and thus to emphasize
fi ssion. After a rather lengthy incubation period, annual progress meetings in Paris
were held for three years.
As work progressed, growing company responsibilities and then ill health even-
tually forced Marcel Pouliquen in 2003 to renounce his chairmanship of the study
group. It fell on Claudio Bruno to keep the study on the steady course initiated by
Marcel Pouliquen. The study group issued a fi rst draft in April 2005. This draft was
submitted to a peer-review panel chosen by the Academy, and revised based on the
reviewers’ suggestions. This revised version became the Final Report of Study 3.2,
sent to the IAA in May 2006.
With some prodding by Commission 3, samples of the Final Report were
presented as individual papers at the 2006 Valencia International Astronautical
Congress, and some published in Acta Astronautica and Space Technology. The
authors wish to thank the editors of these journals, and in particular R. Monti,
D. DeMyer, T. Sasaki, G. Reibaldi, and especially Jean-Michel Contant, IAA
Secretary General, for their patience and understanding in granting permission to
publish revised versions of the material as part of this Progress in Astronautics and
Aeronautics volume.
By defi nition, a report to the IAA does not represent a position by the IAA, nor
wants to take a specifi c posture vis à vis the issues discussed. By and large the
members of this study group intended to paint as accurate as possible a picture of
this emerging, or reemerging, technology and of its potential for future space
exploration. Although limited in their key resource (time), they hope their efforts
will be appreciated. Reviewers chosen by IAA made sure the original goals and
intent were indeed met in the Final Report, and added or suggested further material;
the authors wish to acknowledge their help, as well as that of Prof. Gorshkov
(Russia) and Prof. Popov (Ukraine), who, after much effort, provided some his-
torical and current information about the Russian nuclear propulsion program.
We wish to acknowledge all IAA peer reviewers for their time, commitment, and
comments, sometimes very detailed and always useful; all Commission 3 mem-
bers and especially Horst Rauck, Hans Hoffman, Andre’ Van Gaver, Ivan Bekey,
Peter Swann, and John Mankins, who kindly supported this study; and particularly
to Marcel Pouliquen, for his intuition, common sense, and calm leadership.
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viii
Finally, it should be noted that in August 2007 David Fearn, author of Chapter 3,
passed away unexpectedly. A void has been left in this community and his loss is,
and will continue to be, deeply regretted.
Study Group Members:
Marcel Pouliquen, SAFRAN/SNECMA, France
Claudio Bruno, University of Rome “La Sapienza,“ Italy
Monika Auweter-Kurtz, University of Stuttgart, IRS, Germany
David Fearn, EP Solutions, United Kingdom (deceased)
Helmuth Kurtz, University of Stuttgart, IRS, Germany
Timothy J. Lawrence, U.S. Air Force Academy, United States
Roger X. Lenard, GPS Solutions, IOSTAR and Sandia National
Laboratories, United States
July 2008
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Table of Contents
Preface. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . xiii
Acronyms and Abbreviations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . xv
Nomenclature. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . xix
Chapter 1. Nuclear Propulsion—An Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1
Claudio Bruno, University of Rome “La Sapienza,” Rome, Italy
Introduction. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1
Fundamental Physics . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2
Conclusions. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 27
References. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 28
Chapter 2. Nuclear-Thermal-Rocket Propulsion Systems . . . . . . . . . . . 31
Timothy J. Lawrence, U.S. Air Force Academy, Colorado Springs, Colorado
Introduction. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 31
System Confi guration and Operation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 34
Nuclear-Thermal-Rocket Concepts . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 37
MagOrion and Mini-MagOrion . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 45
Safety . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 47
Conclusions. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 49
References. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 50
Chapter 3. Application of Ion Thrusters to High-Thrust,
High-Specifi c-Impulse Nuclear Electric Missions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 53
D. G. Fearn, EP Solutions, Hampshire, England, United Kingdom
Introduction. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 53
Background. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 55
Gridded Ion Engines—Current Devices . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 69
Scaling Process. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 93
High-SI, High-Power Operation. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 101
Conclusions. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 115
References. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 118
ix
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