PLASMA AND ENGINEERING PARAMETERS FOR A FUSION POWERED ROCKET

Journal Article · Tue Jan 01 00:00:00 EST 1963 · IEEE (Inst. Elec. Electron. Engrs.) Trans. Nucl. Sci.

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1109/TNS.1963.4323256· OSTI ID:4744191

Hilton, J L

Assuming a solution of plasma instability and confinement problems, a study is presented showing the relationship of pertinent plasma parameters. The reacting plasma is assumed within a multipolar magnetic confinement geometry. The power lost to neutrons by most fusion reactors shows that He/sup 3/-D is the unique fusion reaction suitable for space propulsion. The relationship of plasma particle density, ion temperature, and confining magnetic field to total fusion power is presented. The signiflcant plasma losses of bremsstrahlung and gyromagnetic radiation are discussed. The consequences resulting from radiation are discussed. The consequences resulting from different values of BETA (the ratio of plasma to magnetic confinement pressures) are investigated. A rough rocket motor optimization is performed with 25 megawatt power in the exhaust jet. This hypothetical rocket motor has a peak I/sub sp/ of 4.7 x 10/sup 5/ to 8 x 10/ sup 4/ seconds depending on the electron temperature, and is capable of operating down to a I/sub sp/ of approximately 5000 seconds by adding extra cold propellant. When operating at the high I/sub sp/ the fuel consumption is 2.2 to 44 lbs/day, depending on the electron temperatures. The resulting estimate of fusion rocket motor power to weight ratios is 0.7 to 2 lbs/kwatt for BETA values above 0.2. The relationship of payload fraction to space flight time for a simple Jupiter mission is presented for both the proposed fusion and uranium-fission electric systems. (auth)

• Research Organization: Aerojet-General Nucleonics, San Ramon, Calif.
• Sponsoring Organization: USDOE
• NSA Number: NSA-17-016891
• OSTI ID: 4744191
• Journal Information: IEEE (Inst. Elec. Electron. Engrs.) Trans. Nucl. Sci., Vol. Vol: NS- 10; Other Information: Orig. Receipt Date: 31-DEC-63
• Country of Publication: Country unknown/Code not available
• Language: English

Related Subjects

PHYSICS
BREMSSTRAHLUNG
CONFIGURATION
DENSITY
DEUTERIUM
ELECTRICITY
ELECTRONS
FISSION
HELIUM 3
IONS
JETS
JUPITER
LOSSES
MAGNETIC FIELDS
MAGNETIC MOMENTS
MOTORS
NEUTRONS
OPERATION
PLANETS
PLASMA
POWER
PRESSURE
PROPULSION
RADIATIONS
ROCKETS
SPACE
SPACE FLIGHT
SPIN
STABILITY
TEMPERATURE
THERMONUCLEAR DEVICES
THERMONUCLEAR REACTIONS
URANIUM
WEIGHT