Fast Track'' nuclear thermal propulsion concept

Conference · Sun Jan 10 00:00:00 EST 1993 · AIP Conference Proceedings (American Institute of Physics); (United States)

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1063/1.43069· OSTI ID:5460646

Johnson, R A; Zweig, H R ^[1]; Cooper, M H; Wett, J Jr ^[2]

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1. Rocketdyne Division, Rockwell International Corporation, 6633 Canoga Avenue, P.O. Box 7922, Canoga Park, California 91309-7922 (United States)
2. Westinghouse Electric Corporation, Post Office Box 158, Madison, Pennsylvania 15663 (United States)

The objective of the Space Exploration Initiative ( America at the Threshold...,'' 1991) is the exploration of Mars by man in the second decade of the 21st century. The NASA Fast Track'' approach (NASA-LeRC Presentation, 1992) could accelerate the manned exploration of Mars to 2007. NERVA-derived nuclear propulsion represents a viable near-term technology approach to accomplish the accelerated schedule. Key milestones in the progression to the manned Mars mission are (1) demonstration of TRL-6 for the man-rateable system by 1999, (2) a robotic lunar mission by 2000, (3) the first cargo mission to Mars by 2005, and (4) the piloted Mars mission in 2007. The Rocketdyne-Westinghouse concept for nuclear thermal propulsion to achieve these milestones combines the nuclear reactor technology of the Rover/NERVA programs and the state-of-the-art hardware designs from hydrogen-fueled rocket engine successes like the Space Shuttle Main Engine (SSME).

• OSTI ID: 5460646
• Report Number(s): CONF-930103-; CODEN: APCPCS
• Journal Information: AIP Conference Proceedings (American Institute of Physics); (United States), Vol. 271:1; Conference: 10. symposium on space nuclear power and propulsion, Albuquerque, NM (United States), 10-14 Jan 1993; ISSN 0094-243X
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

21 SPECIFIC NUCLEAR REACTORS AND ASSOCIATED PLANTS
SPACE PROPULSION REACTORS
PROPULSION SYSTEMS
ROCKET ENGINES
AFTER-HEAT REMOVAL
DESIGN
HYDROGEN
MARS PLANET
MARS SPACE PROBES
NERVA REACTOR
NOZZLES
PUMPS
REACTOR CORES
ROVER REACTORS
TECHNOLOGY ASSESSMENT
TURBOMACHINERY
ELEMENTS
ENGINES
EQUIPMENT
EXPERIMENTAL REACTORS
GAS COOLED REACTORS
HYDROGEN COOLED REACTORS
MACHINERY
MOBILE REACTORS
NONMETALS
PLANETS
POWER REACTORS
PROPULSION REACTORS
REACTOR COMPONENTS
REACTORS
REMOVAL
RESEARCH AND TEST REACTORS
SPACE POWER REACTORS
SPACE VEHICLES
VEHICLES
NESDPS Office of Nuclear Energy Space and Defense Power Systems
210600* - Power Reactors
Auxiliary
Mobile Package
& Transportable