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A Boiling-Potassium Fluoride Reactor for an Artificial-Gravity NEP VehicleSeveral years ago a rotating manned spacecraft employing nuclear-electric propulsion was examined for Mars exploration. The reactor and its power conversion system essentially served as the counter-mass to an inflatable manned module. A solid-core boiling potassium reactor based on the MPRE concept of the 1960s was baselined in that study. This paper proposes the use of a liquid-fluoride reactor, employing direct boiling of potassium in the core, as a means to overcome some of the residual issues with the MPRE reactor concept. Several other improvements to the rotating Mars vehicle are proposed as well, such as Canfield joints to enable the electric engines to track the inertial thrust vector during rotation, and innovative "cold-ion" engine technologies to improve engine performance.
Document ID
20090028665
Acquisition Source
Marshall Space Flight Center
Document Type
Conference Paper
Authors
Sorensen, Kirk
(NASA Marshall Space Flight Center Huntsville, AL, United States)
Juhasz, Albert
(NASA Glenn Research Center Cleveland, OH, United States)
Date Acquired
August 24, 2013
Publication Date
July 8, 2007
Subject Category
Spacecraft Propulsion And Power
Report/Patent Number
MSFC-373
Meeting Information
Meeting: 43rd AIAA/ASME/SAE/ASEE Joint Propulsion Conference
Location: Cincinnati, OH
Country: United States
Start Date: July 8, 2007
End Date: July 11, 2007
Sponsors: American Society of Mechanical Engineers, American Society for Electrical Engineers, American Inst. of Aeronautics and Astronautics, Society of Automotive Engineers, Inc.
Distribution Limits
Public
Copyright
Work of the US Gov. Public Use Permitted.

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