GASEOUS FISSION REACTORS FOR BOOSTER PROPULSION
The gaseous fission reactor concept was examined as the prime energy source for the direct heating of the propellant in a high-thrust rocket engine. The analysis reveals that, if regenerative cooling is the only mechanism for removing the radiation heat deposited in the solid members of the reactor and engine, then there is a maximum attainable specific impulse of about 3 times that for the corresponding all-solid-fuel reactor. In the high-thrust application the thermal radiation from the fissioning gas is not a critical factor. Even with conservative estimates of gas emissivities, the resulting engine performance is markedly superior to other methcds of propulsion. Typical engine and vehicle characteristics were determined for a variety of missions ranging from 25,000 to 60,000 ft per sec velocity increments. (auth)
- Research Organization:
- California Inst. of Tech., Pasadena. Jet Propulsion Lab.
- NSA Number:
- NSA-15-023123
- OSTI ID:
- 4038642
- Report Number(s):
- JPL-TR-32-94
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
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GASEOUS FISSION REACTORS FOR SPACECRAFT PROPULSION