Development of a Small Nuclear Thermal Propulsion Flight Demonstrator Concept that Is Scalable to Human Missions

Joyner, Claude R.; Levack, Dan; Borowski, Stanley K.; Rocketdyne, Whitney

doi:10.2514/6.2012-4207

Cited by 6 publications

(5 citation statements)

References 12 publications

(11 reference statements)

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“…A small amount, however, is extracted from the flow and utilized for autogenous tank pressurization. From here the hydrogen enters the reactor core to be superheated and exhausted out the nozzle 3 …”

Section: A Engine Cyclementioning

confidence: 99%

Cycle Analysis of a 200MW Class CERMET Based NTR Engine

Fittje¹,

Schnitzler²

2012

48th AIAA/ASME/SAE/ASEE Joint Propulsion Conference &Amp;amp; Exhibit

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Nuclear rocket engines utilizing W-UO2 ceramic-metal (cermet) fuel are analyzed. A highly detailed Monte Carlo Neutron-Photon (MCNP) model of the reactor core is developed and exercised to determine the energy deposited in the various engine components via decelerating fission products and scattered neutrons and photons. These results are then used by the Nuclear Engine System Simulation (NESS) code to determine engine performance characteristics, determine thermodynamic state points throughout the cycle, and estimate engine mass. These engines are expander cycle based designs and utilize no tie-tubes to extract thermal energy from the reactor to drive the turbo-machinery.

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Section: A Engine Cyclementioning

confidence: 99%

Cycle Analysis of a 200MW Class CERMET Based NTR Engine

Fittje¹,

Schnitzler²

2012

48th AIAA/ASME/SAE/ASEE Joint Propulsion Conference &Amp;amp; Exhibit

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“…A small NTP FTD could fit within the 5-meter fairing of the Delta 4 M (5,4) launch system (shown in Fig. 28) and leverage a lot of DCSS components like the hydrogen tank, systems for pressurization, attitude control, avionics and power, plus inter-stage and thrust structure [39,40]. The hydrogen tank's cylindrical barrel section would be increased to accommodate the propellant needed for a particular mission.…”

Section: Figure 27 Notional Ntp Development Plan Includes Foundationmentioning

confidence: 99%

Modular Growth NTR Space Transportation System for Future NASA Human Lunar, NEA and Mars Exploration Missions

Borowski

McCurdy²,

Packard³

2012

AIAA SPACE 2012 Conference &Amp; Exposition

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The nuclear thermal rocket (NTR) is a proven, high thrust propulsion technology that has twice the specific impulse (I sp ~900 s) of today's best chemical rockets. During the Rover and NERVA (Nuclear Engine for Rocket Vehicle Applications) programs, twenty rocket reactors were designed, built and ground tested. These tests demonstrated: (1) a wide range of thrust;(2) high temperature carbide-based nuclear fuel; (3) sustained engine operation; (4) accumulated lifetime; and (5) restart capability -everything required for affordable human missions beyond LEO. In NASA's recent Mars Design Reference Architecture (DRA) 5.0 study, the NTR was selected as the preferred propulsion option because of its proven technology, higher performance, lower IMLEO, versatile vehicle design, and growth potential. Furthermore, the NTR requires no large technology scale-ups since the smallest engine tested during the Rover program -the 25 klb f "Pewee" engine is sufficient for human Mars missions when used in a clustered engine configuration. The "Copernicus" crewed Mars transfer vehicle developed for DRA 5.0 was an expendable design sized for fastconjunction, long surface stay Mars missions. It therefore has significant propellant capacity allowing a reusable "1-year" round trip human mission to a large, high energy near Earth asteroid (NEA) like Apophis in 2028. Using a "split mission" approach, Copernicus and its two key elements -a common propulsion stage and integrated "saddle truss" and LH 2 drop tank assembly -configured as an Earth Return Vehicle / propellant tanker, can also support a short round trip (~18 month) / short orbital stay (60 days) Mars reconnaissance mission in the early 2030's before a landing is attempted. The same short stay orbital mission can be performed with an "all-up" vehicle by adding an "in-line" LH 2 tank to Copernicus to supply the extra propellant needed for this higher energy, opposition-class mission. To transition to a reusable Mars architecture, Copernicus' saddle truss / drop tank assembly is replaced by an in-line tank and "star truss" assembly with paired modular drop tanks to further increase the vehicle's propellant capacity. Shorter "1-way" transit time fast-conjunction Mars missions are another possibility using this vehicle configuration but, as with reusability, increased launch mass is required. "Scaled down" versions of Copernicus (sized to a SLS lift capability of ~70 t -100 t) can be developed initially allowing reusable lunar cargo delivery and crewed landing missions, easy NEA missions (e.g., 2000 SG344 also in 2028) or an expendable mission to Apophis. Mission scenario descriptions, key vehicle features and operational characteristics are provided along with a brief discussion of NASA's current activities and its "pre-decisional" plans for future NTR development.---

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“…A small NTP FTD could fit within the 5-meter fairing of the Delta 4 M (5,4) launch system (shown in Fig. 17) and leverage a lot of DCSS components like the hydrogen tank, systems for pressurization, attitude control, avionics and power, plus inter-stage and thrust structure [21,22]. The hydrogen tank's cylindrical barrel section would be increased to accommodate the propellant needed for the mission.…”

Section: Notional Plans For Ntp Technology Development and Demonmentioning

confidence: 99%

Near Earth Asteroid Human Mission Possibilities Using Nuclear Thermal Rocket (NTR) Propulsion

Borowski

McCurdy²,

Packard³

2012

48th AIAA/ASME/SAE/ASEE Joint Propulsion Conference &Amp;amp; Exhibit

Self Cite

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

The NTR is a proven technology that generates high thrust and has a specific impulse (I sp ~900 s) twice that of today's best chemical rockets. During the Rover and NERVA (Nuclear Engine for Rocket Vehicle Applications) programs, twenty rocket reactors were designed, built and ground tested. These tests demonstrated: (1) a wide range of thrust; (2) high temperature carbide-based nuclear fuel; (3) sustained engine operation; (4) accumulated lifetime; and (5) restart capability-all the requirements needed for a human mission to Mars. Ceramic metal fuel was also evaluated as a backup option. In NASA's recent Mars Design reference Architecture (DRA) 5.0 study, the NTR was selected as the preferred propulsion option because of its proven technology, higher performance, lower launch mass, versatile vehicle design, simple assembly, and growth potential. In contrast to other advanced propulsion options, NTP requires no large technology scale-ups. In fact, the smallest engine tested during the Rover program-the 25 klb f "Pewee" engine is sufficient for a human Mars mission when used in a clustered engine configuration. The "Copernicus" crewed NTR Mars transfer vehicle design developed for DRA 5.0 has significant capability that can enable reusable "1-year" round trip human missions to candidate near Earth asteroids (NEAs) like 1991 JW in 2027, or 2000 SG344 and Apophis in 2028. A robotic precursor mission to 2000 SG344 in late 2023 could provide an attractive Flight Technology Demonstration of a small NTR engine that is scalable to the 25 klb f-class engine used for human missions 5 years later. In addition to the detailed scientific data gathered from on-site inspection, human NEA missions would also provide a valuable "check out" function for key elements of the NTR transfer vehicle (its propulsion module, TransHab and life support systems, etc.) in a "deep space" environment prior to undertaking the longer duration Mars orbital and landing missions that would follow. The initial mass in low Earth orbit required for a mission to Apophis is ~323 t consisting of the NTR propulsion module (~138 t), the integrated saddle truss and LH 2 drop tank assembly (~123 t), and the 6-crew payload element (~62 t). The later includes a multi-mission Space Excursion Vehicle (MMSEV) used for close-up examination and sample gathering. The total burn time and required restarts on the three 25 klb f "Pewee-class" engines operating at I sp ~906 s, are ~76.2 minutes and 4, respectively, well below the 2 hours and 27 restarts demonstrated on the NERVA eXperimental Engine, the NRX-XE. The paper examines the benefits, requirements and characteristics of using NTP for the above NEA missions. The impacts on vehicle design of HLV payload volume and lift capability, crew size, and reusability are also quantified.

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Development of a Small Nuclear Thermal Propulsion Flight Demonstrator Concept that Is Scalable to Human Missions

Cited by 6 publications

References 12 publications

Cycle Analysis of a 200MW Class CERMET Based NTR Engine

Cycle Analysis of a 200MW Class CERMET Based NTR Engine

Modular Growth NTR Space Transportation System for Future NASA Human Lunar, NEA and Mars Exploration Missions

Near Earth Asteroid Human Mission Possibilities Using Nuclear Thermal Rocket (NTR) Propulsion

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