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Dr. Robert Zubrin

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Dr. Robert Zubrin Nuclear Power Applications in Space Why Nuclear For Space Exploration? NUCLEAR POWER ALREADY IN USE • Nuclear fuels are a million times more energy dense than chemical fuels Radioisotope Thermoelectric Generators (RTGs) • Chemical fuels have reached their practical limits • Nuclear reactors give more thrust allowing missions to be completed faster, RTGs have been used to produce power on space probes meaning less exposure time for astronauts to hostile space environment and other missions for the past 25 years. They use the natural • Radioactive isotopes are able to provide heat and electricity for several decades decay of Plutonium-238 to create about 230 W of electricity. The Cassini Mission is powered • Only nuclear reactors are a practical source of electricity as we move farther by RTGs and the systems kept Ideal for interplanetary missions, they are compact weighing and farther away from the Sun warm by pellets of Plutonium. only 120 lbs, 45 inches in height, 18 inches in diameter and operate unattended for several decades. Plutonium Heat Generators Small amounts of Plutonium-238 are often placed on space Energy is Derived from Nuclear Reactions What About Radiation From Space Reactors? probes and vehicles. Because the natural decay produces heat, they are optimal for providing warmth for computers and other systems needing room temperature operation. Nuclear Fission Radioisotope Thermoelectric Space is essentially an ocean of radiation. The Sun Generator (RTG) • Fission occurs when a free neutron strikes a heavy atom such as gives off far more radiation from its fusion than we Uranium or Plutonium. This collision causes the atom to break apart or fission. could ever become close to matching. The Earth’s • The atom splits apart into two highly energetic fragments which magnetic field protects us from this harmful deposit their energy making heat • Also 2-3 additional neutrons result which can strike other atoms radiation. However, astronauts are exposed to this, causing them to fission resulting in a chain reaction and spending too much time in space can lead to • The reaction rate can be controlled in a nuclear reactor allowing production of electricity from the heat generated health effects. It is important that space crafts be shielded from the hostile radiation environment of space. Nuclear Fusion Fusion & Future Propulsion Although nuclear reactors give off radiation, the • Fusion occurs when two light atoms smash into each other and crew can be protected by distance and shielding. combine Magnetic Confined Fusion (MCF) Propulsion • The products are lighter than the reactants meaning some of the Note the reactor is located on the end of the boom mass gets converted to energy in the picture of the ship on the right, a safe • Fusion is more energy dense than fission • The most common reaction involves two hydrogen isotopes distance from the crew. Nuclear reactors allow This concept is based on the Magnetic Fusion concept. It confines (Deuterium and Tritium) fusing to make Helium Deuterium and Tritium (D-T) ions with a magnetic field. The D-T ions • Nuclear fusion is the process powering the stars ships to reach their destination faster actually • As of yet, fusion as an electricity source has not yet been achieved lowering their total radiation exposure. Since are heated to a temperature of 100 million degrees C. All matter at this and is currently being researched reactors are well contained, it can withstand any state becomes a plasma or ionized gas and must be confined with a reentry disasters and pose little to no risk to the magnetic field. These ions are moving so fast that they fuse when they general public should such a scenario occur. smash into each other. The reaction creates highly energetic byproducts which are accelerated out the back of the engine propelling the craft forward. Inertial Confined Fusion (ICF) Propulsion Fission Reactors In Space This engine works on the Inertial Fusion concept. A small D-T pellet is injected into the reactor chamber. Several lasers or heavy ion beams Nuclear Fission Propulsion works by having a reactor generate Fission Fragment Interstellar Probes fire simultaneously at the target pellet causing the pellet to collapse heat. Liquid Hydrogen or Ammonia propellant is pumped into a and inducing a small thermonuclear explosion similar to a hydrogen vessel by the reactor. The propellant is heated up, vaporizes, bomb. The force of the explosion propels the craft forward. Main The fragments from a fission reaction are extremely energetic and and is ejected out of a nozzle propelling a spacecraft forward. technical difficulties are in the laser driver systems being very heavy could be used for propulsion. The fuel is located on thin disks that and requiring a great deal of power. The first fission propulsion systems were rotate in and out of the reactor (see figure to left). Because the investigated in the 1960s and 1970s. The disks are thin, many of the fragments can escape and be accelerated capstone design from this program was by a magnetic field. These fragments are ejected out of the probe called NERVA (Nuclear Engine for Rocket and the ship is propelled forward at extremely fast velocities. It is Inertial Electrostatic Confinement (IEC) Fusion Propulsion Vehicle Application). The program was also possible to attach a sail to the probe allowing the fragments to push the probe even more when far away from the Sun. The high Electrostatic Fields are used to accelerate fusion fuels (either D, T, or cancelled in 1972 as the finishing touches of the propulsion system were being applied. speeds this craft can reach make it ideal for probing nearby stars in 3He) toward the center of the grid. The grid is mostly transparent and Fission propulsion is a tested and feasible the future. the particles are accelerated toward the center at which point they technology. Current research is in strike each other and fuse. The fusion fragments are accelerated out of NERVA Rocket Prototype engineering nozzles and propellant Design and conception of the Fission the reactor and are used to propel the craft forward. circulation systems. Fragment Interstellar Probe. Designs for early Nuclear Fission Reactor Propulsion systems in 1960s and 1970s. Jupiter Icy Moons Orbiter Antiproton Catalyzed Micro-fission/Fusion Propulsion NASA has recently proposed to start work on the Jupiter Icy Moons Orbiter (JIMO) to be completed by around 2011. JIMO is designed to orbit three of Jupiter’s moons: Europa, Ganymede, This propulsion scheme uses pellets mixed of Uranium and D-T fuels. Lasers or heavy ion beams compress the pellet. At maximum and Callisto. JIMO’s mission is to find evidence of life on the moons such as compression, a small number of antiprotons (10^9) are fired at the the existence of oceans. It will collect data that will hopefully tell pellet to catalyze the Uranium fission process. The fission heat causes us about their surfaces and perhaps some clues as to their origins. a fusion burn and the expanding plasma pushes the craft forward. Additionally, JIMO will measure the radiation levels near the This system gets around typical restrictions of antimatter propulsion because it uses a relatively small amount of expensive antimatter. This moons. JIMO is to be powered by a nuclear fission reactor Artist’s conception of the Jupiter Icy Moons projected to have a power output of around 250,000 Watts. craft would be capable of reaching Pluto in 3 years with a 100 million Orbiter approaching Europa. The fission reactor ton payload. is located at the end of the boom near the top of Compare this to Cassini which runs on a mere 100 Watts of the picture. electricity. JIMO will illustrate the power of nuclear fission reactors on space probes. “Without nuclear-powered spacecraft, we'll never get anywhere” -- Dr. Robert Zubrin Images courtesy of NASA, JK Rawlings, and JPL Poster by Brian C Kiedrowski .
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