Documents / Report
This unclassified Defense Intelligence Reference Document from the Defense Intelligence Agency is dated 2 March 2010. It was produced in FY 2009 under the Advanced Aerospace Weapon System Applications (AAWSA) Program. The report reviews work on using positrons as aerospace fuel. It covers air-breathing turbojet and ramjet engines, unmanned aircraft, missiles, single-stage reusable vehicles, positron rockets and a crewed Mars mission, along with how positrons could be produced and stored. It concludes that a first positron-powered flight around the globe could be possible within 10 years.
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POSITRON ENERGY CONVERSION FOR ONBOARD POWER
Research was conducted on positron utilization in a standalone, closed-loop, high-power
system. 42 A Brayton cycle engine (Figure 14) was investigated with output power of 100
kW, consistent with Mars Reference Mission specifications. 43 , 44 Results show efficiencies
of 25-30 percent and positron consumption of 7 μg/hour.
Such a power system would have practical meaning for fast transits to Mars where
positron consumption does not dominate rocket positron consumption.
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Figure 14. Closed Brayton Cycle Using Positron Annihilation (courtesy Positronics Research LLC) 45
In addition, a small, 110-watt, positron-driven generator (Figure 15) for small, onboard
tasks was designed around the NASA Glenn Research Center Stirling Radioisotope
Generator,46 with heat provided by Ps gamma rays.
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Figure 15. Conceptual 110-Watt Positron Closed-Cycle Generator Based on the NASA Glenn Research
Center Stirling Radioisotope Generator47 (courtesy Positronics Research LLC) 48
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Report, from the dia collection. The PDF is mirrored here; the original link is above. 35 pages are in the text index: search them above, or from the library's search.