Fusion Ship II- A Fast Manned Interplanetary Space Vehicle Using Inertial Electrostatic Fusion

Details Fusion Ship II- A Fast Manned Interplanetary Space Vehicle Using Inertial Electrostatic Fusion Fusion Ship II- A Fast Manned Interplanetary Space Vehicle Using Inertial Electrostatic Fusion

Jan 2003

adsabs.harvard.edu/cgi-bin/nph-data_query?bibcode=2003aipc..654..553b&link_type=abstract

SPACE TECHNOLOGY AND APPLICATIONS INT.FORUM-STAIF 2003: Conf.on Thermophysics in Microgravity; Commercial/Civil Next Generation

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Spaceborne And Space Research Instruments, Apparatus, And Components, Electrostatic And High-Frequency Confinement

Scientific paper

A preliminary system design, Fusion Ship II, is presented for a high performance 750 MWthrust manned space vehicle in the 500 metric ton class. Fusion Ship II is based on Inertial Electrostatic Fusion (IEC), giving round trip times to the outer planets of 1-2 years. An IEC is chosen because it simplifies structure results in a very high power to weight ratio. The fusion reactor uses D-3He fuel that generates 14.7-MeV protons as the primary reaction product. The propulsion system uses direct conversion of proton energy to electricity, avoiding the thermalization of the working fluid to maximize efficiency. Design calculations are described for the principle system components (crew compartment, crew shielding, avionics, fusion reactor modules, traveling wave direct energy converter, step-down transformer, rectifier, ion thruster, heat rejection radiators) along with vehicle trajectory calculations. Since unburned fusion fuels are recycled rather than exhausted with the propellant, problems of fuel weight and preservation of 3He are minimized. The 750-MWthrust propulsion system is based on NSTAR-extrapolated Argon ion thrusters operating at a specific impulse of 35,000 seconds and a total thrust of 4,370 N. Round trip travel time for a Jupiter mission ΔV of 202,000 m/s is then 363 days. This design requires that an IEC reactor with a proton energy gain (power in 14.7-MeV protons/input electric power) of 9 or better is achieved. Extrapolation of present laboratory-scale IEC experiments to such conditions is possible theoretically, but faces several open issues including stability under high-density plasma operation.

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