Packaging and deployment of a 5. 5 MWe potassium---Rankine nuclear electric propulsion spacecraft

Conference · Wed Jan 20 04:00:00 EST 1993 · AIP Conference Proceedings (American Institute of Physics); (United States)

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1063/1.43130· OSTI ID:5460601

Rovang, R D; Marko, M ^[1]

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1. Rockwell International, Rocketdyne Division, 6633 Canoga Avenue, P.O. Box 7922, Canoga Park, California 91309-7922 (United States)

A design study was performed to investigate packaging and deployment options for the potassium---Rankine, nuclear electric propulsion (NEP) spacecraft described by Rovang (1992). The subject spacecraft is the cargo portion of a split-sprint (cargo/piloted) Mars mission, carrying 144 mt of cargo. Two parallel SP-100 type reactors, potassium---Rankine power conversion assemblies, and argon ion thrusters are utilized in the selected architecture. A spacecraft design and deployment approach which uses two heavy lift launch vehicles (HLLV) to insert the entire spacecraft into low Earth orbit is presented.

• OSTI ID: 5460601
• Report Number(s): CONF-930103--
• Conference Information: Journal Name: AIP Conference Proceedings (American Institute of Physics); (United States) Journal Volume: 271:3
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

20 FOSSIL-FUELED POWER PLANTS
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21 SPECIFIC NUCLEAR REACTORS AND ASSOCIATED PLANTS
210600* -- Power Reactors
Auxiliary
Mobile Package
& Transportable
ALKALI METALS
CONFIGURATION
DESIGN
ELEMENTS
FLUIDS
ION PROPULSION
LAUNCHING
MARS PLANET
METALS
MOBILE REACTORS
NESDPS Office of Nuclear Energy Space and Defense Power Systems
OPTIMIZATION
PLANETS
POTASSIUM
POWER REACTORS
PROPULSION
PROPULSION SYSTEMS
RANKINE CYCLE
REACTORS
SPACE POWER REACTORS
SPACE VEHICLES
THERMODYNAMIC CYCLES
VEHICLES
WORKING FLUIDS