Nuclear electric propulsion

Details Nuclear electric propulsion Nuclear electric propulsion

May 1986

adsabs.harvard.edu/cgi-bin/nph-data_query?bibcode=1986mmm.....1..129k&link_type=abstract

In NASA. Marshall Space Flight Center Manned Mars Missions. Working Group Papers, Volume 1, Section 1-4 p 129-141 (SEE N87-1772

Computer Science

Chemical Propulsion, Exhaust Velocity, Ion Propulsion, Manned Space Flight, Nuclear Electric Propulsion, Earth Orbits, Low Thrust, Mission Planning, Orbit Calculation

Scientific paper

The feasibility is investigated of using nuclear electric propulsion (NEP) for slow freighter ships traveling from a 500 km low Earth orbit (LEO) to the Moon's orbit about the Earth, and on to Mars. NEP is also shown to be feasible for transporting people to Mars on long conjunction-class missions lasting about nine months one way, and on short sprint missions lasting four months one way. Generally, it was not attempted to optimize ion exhaust velocities, but rather suitable parameters to demonstrate NEP feasibility were chosen. Various combinations of missions are compared with chemical and nuclear thermal propulsion (NTR) systems. Typically, NEP and NTR can accomplish the same lifting task with similar mass in LEO. When compared to chemical propulsion, NEP was found to accomplish the same missions with 40% less mass in LEO. These findings are sufficiently encouraging as to merit further studies with optimum systems.

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