Mars manned fusion spaceship
Fusion Propulsion has an enormous potential for space exploration in the near future. In the twenty-first century, a usable and efficient fusion rocket will be developed and in use. Because of the great distance between other planets and Earth, efficient use of time, fuel, and payload is essential. A nuclear spaceship would provide greater fuel efficiency, less travel time, and a larger payload. Extended missions would give more time for research, experiments, and data acquisition. With the extended mission time, a need for an artificial environment exists. The topics of magnetic fusion propulsion, living modules, artificial gravity, mass distribution, space connection, and orbital transfer to Mars are discussed. The propulsion system is a magnetic fusion reactor based on a tandem mirror design. This allows a faster, shorter trip time and a large thrust to weight ratio. The fuel proposed is a mixture of deuterium and helium. Helium can be obtained from lunar mining. There will be minimal external radiation from the reactor resulting in a safe, efficient propulsion system.
- Research Organization:
- Wisconsin Univ., Madison, WI (United States)
- OSTI ID:
- 5448204
- Report Number(s):
- N-91-23232; NASA-CR-188215; NAS-1.26:188215; CNN: NAG3-1200
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
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Related Subjects
SPACE VEHICLES
PROPULSION SYSTEMS
THERMONUCLEAR POWER PLANTS
DEUTERIUM
HELIUM 3
MASS DISTRIBUTION
SPACE FLIGHT
TANDEM MIRRORS
TRITIUM
BETA DECAY RADIOISOTOPES
BETA-MINUS DECAY RADIOISOTOPES
DISTRIBUTION
EVEN-ODD NUCLEI
HELIUM ISOTOPES
HYDROGEN ISOTOPES
ISOTOPES
LIGHT NUCLEI
MAGNETIC MIRRORS
NUCLEI
ODD-EVEN NUCLEI
ODD-ODD NUCLEI
OPEN PLASMA DEVICES
POWER PLANTS
RADIOISOTOPES
SPATIAL DISTRIBUTION
STABLE ISOTOPES
THERMONUCLEAR DEVICES
VEHICLES
YEARS LIVING RADIOISOTOPES
700200* - Fusion Energy- Fusion Power Plant Technology