AbstractFrom October 1987 until 1993, the US Department of Defense conducted the Space Nuclear Thermal Propulsion program. This program's objective was to design and develop a high specific impulse, high thrust-to-weight nuclear thermal rocket engine for upper stage applications. The author was the program manager for this program until 1992. Numerous analytical, programmatic and experimental results were generated during this period of time. This paper reviews the accomplishments of the program and highlights the importance of prototypic testing for all aspects of a space nuclear program so that a reliable and safe system compliant with all regulatory requirements can be effectively engineered. Specifically, the paper will recount how many non-prototypic tests we performed only to have more representative tests consistently generate different results. This was particularly true in area of direct nuclear heat generation. As nuclear tests are generally much more expensive than non-nuclear tests, programs attempt to avoid such tests in favor of less expensive non-nuclear tests. Each time this approach was followed, the SNTP program found these tests to not be verified by nuclear heated testing. Hence the author recommends that wherever possible, a spiral development approach that includes exploratory and confirmatory experimental testing be employed to ensure a viable design.


    Access

    Check access

    Check availability in my library

    Order at Subito €


    Export, share and cite



    Title :

    The advisability of prototypic testing for space nuclear systems


    Contributors:

    Published in:

    Acta Astronautica ; 57 , 2-8 ; 404-414


    Publication date :

    2005-01-01


    Size :

    11 pages




    Type of media :

    Article (Journal)


    Type of material :

    Electronic Resource


    Language :

    English




    The advisability of prototypic testing for space nuclear systems

    Lenard, R. X. / International Astronautical Federation / International Academy of Astronautics et al. | British Library Conference Proceedings | 2005



    Advisability and reliability of submarining detection

    Biard,R. / Cesari,D. / Derrien,Y. et al. | Automotive engineering | 1987


    Advisability and Reliability of Submarining Detection

    Cesari, Dominique / Biard, Roger / Derrien, Yves | SAE Technical Papers | 1987