The solid core nuclear thermal rocket (NTR) provides an attractive means of providing the propulsive force needed to accomplish a wide array of space missions. With its factor of two or more advantage in Isp over chemical engines, nuclear propulsion provides the opportunity to accomplish space missions which are impractical by other means. This paper focuses on the use of a nuclear thermal rocket to accomplish a variety of space missions with emphasis on the manned Mars mission. The particle bed reactor (PBR) type nuclear engine was chosen as the baseline engine used to conduct the present study because of its perceived versatility over other nuclear propulsion systems in conducting a wide variety of tasks. This study baselines a particle bed reactor engine with an engine thrust‐to‐weight ratio (∼11.5) and a specific impulse of ∼950 s. It is shown that a PBR engine of this type will offer distinct advantages over the larger and heavier NERVA type nuclear engines.
Vehicle configuration options using nuclear propulsion for Mars missions
10th SymposiumùSpace Nuclear Power and Propulsion ; 1993 ; Albuquerque, NM, USA
AIP Conference Proceedings ; 271 , 3 ; 1723-1728
1993-01-20
6 pages
Conference paper
Electronic Resource
English
Nuclear propulsion system options for Mars missions
AIAA | 1992
|Electric propulsion options for Mars cargo missions
AIAA | 1996
|Electric Propulsion Options for Mars Cargo Missions
NTRS | 1996
|