Documents / Report
This Defense Intelligence Reference Document, dated 1 November 2010, was produced by the Defense Intelligence Agency under its Advanced Aerospace Weapon System Applications (AAWSA) Program. It surveys propulsion technologies that include chemical, ion, and nuclear fission rockets, fusion schemes, aneutronic fusion, and antimatter propulsion. It also covers radiation shielding and speculates on research needs over the next 30 years for missions from low Earth orbit to Mars, Jupiter, Saturn, and Alpha Centauri. The document concludes that aneutronic fusion promises to be an important mechanism for future space propulsion.
“Anderson”1 page
UNCLASSIFIED//F8R 8PPl!ltllt "St OIIEI doubled that of typical chemical rocket designs. The largest NERVA rocket tested generated 867 kN of thrust using liquid hydrogen propellant. NERVA rockets were proposed for the Manned Mars Mission using a tethered cabin to protect the crew from reactor radiation. The NERVA project was cancelled in 1972. LEO TO THE MOONS OF JUPITER AND SATURN (460 TO 940 MILLION MILES) Project Prometheus, 2003-2005, concentrated on nuclear electric and nuclear thermal propulsion for unmanned missions to the moons of Jupiter. For manned flight, the nuclear thermal systems based on NERVA still provide high thrust, reasonable values of specific impulse, and a technology that requires no major breakthroughs in order to be achieved. For manned flights, tethered systems will likely be necessary to minimize radiation exposure to the crew from the reactor. For the next 30 years, nuclear thermal propulsion can be used to explore locations throughout the solar system based on new engineered designs with no unresolved scientific hurdles. Fusion reactors or fusion propulsion can be developed for missions throughout the solar system, but there are many unresolved issues in their use. The fusion propulsion technology that may show promise in the far-term are pulsed propulsion systems. These concept designs include large sails or collectors that absorb the energy from thermonuclear explosions initiated at a specific distance from the collector. Each explosion generates a pulse that accelerates the vehicle forward. Design challenges include protection of the crew from the radiation of the nuclear blast, cushioning the crew from the incredible "jerk" or change in acceleration that occurs during each blast, and the design of a suitable collector. LEO TO ALPHA CENTAUR! (4.22 LIGHT-YEARS OR 24.8 TRILLION MILES) Alpha Centauri contains three of the closest stars to our solar system. Alpha Centauri A and Bare binary stars orbiting one another, yet each one is approximately the same size as the Sun. Alpha Centauri C, or Proxima Centauri, is the closest at 4.22 light- years and is a red dwarf. There is a limited possibility that Alpha Centauri has Earth- like planets. Rockets optimal for flights to these stars and destinations of similar distance would require high specific impulse propulsion. Depending on other mission requirements, the thrust may be kept low since the application of a small, but continuous thrust over a long period of time leads to high velocities. Since aerobraking may not be possible, the spacecraft can accelerate for half the trip and must decelerate for the second half. Spacecraft acceleration can be low, and most designs for human flight focus on a continuous acceleration of 1 g (Earth gravity) to provide optimal crew conditions. 28 UNCLASSIFIED//F81il 8FFI&I.t.k Wli&i SU.bl/
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Report, from the dia collection. The PDF is mirrored here; the original link is above. 50 pages are in the text index: search them above, or from the library's search.