ESCORT: A Pratt &amp; Whitney nuclear thermal propulsion and power system for manned mars missions

Feller, Gerald J.; Joyner, Russell

doi:10.1063/1.57547

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2007

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“…The XNR2000 evolved into the ESCORT reactor, which Feller and Joyner have studied for Manned Mars vehicles [23,47] and Mars surface power [48]. Joyner, et al…”

Section: Ceramic-metallic (Cermet) Fuelsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Integrated Propulsion and Power Modeling for Bimodal Nuclear Thermal Rockets

Clough¹,

Starkey²,

Lewis³

et al. 2007

43rd AIAA/ASME/SAE/ASEE Joint Propulsion Conference &Amp;amp; Exhibit

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Design point results show that a 316 MWt reactor produces a thrust and specific impulse of 66.6 kN and 917 s, respectively. The same reactor can be run at 73.8 kWt to produce the necessary 16.7 kW electric power with a Brayton cycle generator. This demonstrates the feasibility of BNTR operation with a NERVAderived reactor but also indicates that the reactor control system must be able to operate with precision across a wide power range, and that the transient analysis of reactor decay heat merits future investigation.Results also identify a significant reactor pressure-drop limitation during propulsion and power-generation operation that is caused by poor tie tube thermal conductivity. This leads to the conclusion that, while BNTR operation is possible with a NERVA-derived reactor, doing so requires careful consideration of the Brayton cycle design point and fuel element survivability.

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“…The XNR2000 evolved into the ESCORT reactor, which Feller and Joyner have studied for Manned Mars vehicles [23,47] and Mars surface power [48]. Joyner, et al…”

Section: Ceramic-metallic (Cermet) Fuelsmentioning

confidence: 99%