Origin of how steam rockets can reduce space transport cost by orders of magnitude
- Lockheed Martin Idaho Technologies, Idaho National Engineering and Environmental Laboratory, Idaho Falls, Idaho 83415 (United States)
- Department of Energy, Idaho Field Office, Idaho National Engineering and Environmental Laboratory, Idaho Falls, Idaho 83415 (United States)
A brief sketch shows the origin of why and how thermal rocket propulsion has the unique potential to dramatically reduce the cost of space transportation for most inner solar system missions of interest. Orders of magnitude reduction in cost are apparently possible when compared to all processes requiring electrolysis for the production of rocket fuels or propellants and to all electric propulsion systems. An order of magnitude advantage can be attributed to rocket propellant tank factors associated with storing water propellant, compared to cryogenic liquids. An order of magnitude can also be attributed to the simplicity of the extraction and processing of ice on the lunar surface, into an easily stored, non-cryogenic rocket propellant (water). A nuclear heated thermal rocket can deliver thousands of times its mass to Low Earth Orbit from the Lunar surface, providing the equivalent to orders of magnitude drop in launch cost for mass in Earth orbit. Mass includes water ice. These cost reductions depend (exponentially) on the mission delta-v requirements being less than about 6 km/s, or about 3 times the specific velocity of steam rockets (2 km/s, from Isp 200 sec). Such missions include: from the lunar surface to Low Lunar Orbit, (LLO), from LLO to lunar escape, from Low Earth Orbit (LEO) to Geosynchronous Orbit (GEO), from LEO to Earth Escape, from LEO to Mars Transfer Orbit, from LLO to GEO, missions returning payloads from about 10{percent} of the periodic comets using propulsive capture to orbits around Earth itself, and fast, 100 day missions from Lunar Escape to Mars. All the assertions depend entirely and completely on the existence of abundant, nearly pure ice at the permanently dark North and South Poles of the Moon. {copyright} {ital 1999 American Institute of Physics.}
- Research Organization:
- Idaho National Engineering Lab
- Sponsoring Organization:
- USDOE
- DOE Contract Number:
- AC07-94ID13223
- OSTI ID:
- 341321
- Report Number(s):
- CONF-990103-; ISSN 0094-243X; TRN: 99:005851
- Journal Information:
- AIP Conference Proceedings, Vol. 458, Issue 1; Conference: 1999 space technology and applications international forum, Albuquerque, NM (United States), 31 Jan - 4 Feb 1999; Other Information: PBD: Jan 1999
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
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