The design and performance of a arcjet nuclear electric propulsion spacecraft, suitable for use in a space reactor power system (SRPS) flight experiment, are outlined. The vehicle design is based on a 92-kW ammonia arcjet system operating at a specific impulse of 1050 s and an efficiency of 45 percent. The arcjet/gimbal system, power processing unit, and propellant feed system are described. A 100-kW SRPS is assumed and the spacecraft mass is baselined at 5250 kg, excluding the propellant and propellant feed system. A radiation/arcjet efflux diagnostics package is included in the performance analysis. This spacecraft, assuming a Shuttle launch from Kennedy Space Center, can perform a 35-deg inclination change and reach a final orbit of 35,860 km with a 120-day trip time, thus providing a four-month active load for the SRPS. Alternatively, a Titan IV launch could provide a mass margin of 120 kg to a 1000km, 58-deg final orbit in 74 days.
Arcjet propulsion system for an SP-100 flight experiment
1988-12-01
Sonstige
Keine Angabe
Englisch
Arcjet propulsion system for an SP-100 flight experiment
AIAA | 1988
|Qualification of a 26 kW Arcjet Flight Propulsion System
AIAA | 1995
|AIAA | 1990
|The DIVA in-flight arcjet experiment program
AIAA | 1990
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