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Nuclear safe orbit basing considerationsConsideration is given to one aspect of space nuclear power safety, namely, the radiation dose rate risk due to a reentered reactor. It is found that for nuclear-thermal propulsion NERVA vehicles, the minimum required altitude for initial basing and earth escape is 500 to 600 km; for final end-of-life storage, the required altitude is about 1000 km. For a 10-MWe nuclear-electric propulsion vehicle, the basing node is 800 km and the final end-of-life storage altitude is 1100 km. Radiation levels have been evaluated for both the SP-100 nuclear electric and the NERVA nuclear thermal reactors as a function of operating time, power level, and time after shutdown.
Document ID
19910067711
Acquisition Source
Legacy CDMS
Document Type
Conference Paper
Authors
Frisbee, Robert H.
(Jet Propulsion Lab., California Inst. of Tech. Pasadena, CA, United States)
Leifer, Stephanie D.
(JPL Pasadena, CA, United States)
Shah, Shishir V.
(Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, Troy, NY, United States)
Date Acquired
August 14, 2013
Publication Date
September 1, 1991
Subject Category
Spacecraft Propulsion And Power
Report/Patent Number
AIAA PAPER 91-3411
Accession Number
91A52334
Distribution Limits
Public
Copyright
Other

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