Space Nuclear Power PDF Download

Author: Joseph A. Angelo
Publisher:
ISBN: 9780894640001
Category : Technology & Engineering
Languages : en
Pages : 252

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Author: International Atomic Energy Agency
Publisher: IAEA
ISBN:
Category : Business & Economics
Languages : en
Pages : 152

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Book Description
Provides details of a variety of radioisotope power systems, shows in what circumstances they surpass other power systems, and provides the history of the space missions in which they have been employed. The book also summarizes the use of on-board reactors and the testing done on reactor rocket thrusters.

Author: National Research Council
Publisher: National Academies Press
ISBN: 0309180104
Category : Science
Languages : en
Pages : 158

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Book Description
In 2003, NASA began an R&D effort to develop nuclear power and propulsion systems for solar system exploration. This activity, renamed Project Prometheus in 2004, was initiated because of the inherent limitations in photovoltaic and chemical propulsion systems in reaching many solar system objectives. To help determine appropriate missions for a nuclear power and propulsion capability, NASA asked the NRC for an independent assessment of potentially highly meritorious missions that may be enabled if space nuclear systems became operational. This report provides a series of space science objectives and missions that could be so enabled in the period beyond 2015 in the areas of astronomy and astrophysics, solar system exploration, and solar and space physics. It is based on but does not reprioritize the findings of previous NRC decadal surveys in those three areas.

Author: Claudio Bruno
Publisher: Progress in Astronautics and A
ISBN: 9781563479519
Category : Technology & Engineering
Languages : en
Pages : 282

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Book Description
Nuclear propulsion : an introduction / Claudio Bruno -- Nuclear-thermal-rocket propulsion systems / Timothy J. Lawrence -- Application of ion thrusters to high-thrust, high-specific-impulse nuclear electric missions / D.G. Fearn -- High-power and high-thrust-density electric propulsion for in-space transportation / Monika Auweter-Kurtz and Helmut Kurtz -- Review of reactor configurations for space nuclear electric propulsion and surface power considerations / Roger X. Lenard -- Nuclear safety : legal aspects and policy recommendations / Roger X. Lenard -- Radioactivity, doses, and risks in nuclear propulsion / Alessio Del Rossi and Claudio Bruno -- The Chernobyl accident : a detailed account / Alessio del Rossi and Claudio Bruno.

Author: National Academies of Sciences Engineering and Medicine
Publisher:
ISBN: 9780309684804
Category :
Languages : en
Pages :

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Book Description
Space Nuclear Propulsion for Human Mars Exploration identifies primary technical and programmatic challenges, merits, and risks for developing and demonstrating space nuclear propulsion technologies of interest to future exploration missions. This report presents key milestones and a top-level development and demonstration roadmap for performance nuclear thermal propulsion and nuclear electric propulsion systems and identifies missions that could be enabled by successful development of each technology.

Author: National Research Council
Publisher: National Academies Press
ISBN: 0309138574
Category : Science
Languages : en
Pages : 68

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Book Description
Spacecraft require electrical energy. This energy must be available in the outer reaches of the solar system where sunlight is very faint. It must be available through lunar nights that last for 14 days, through long periods of dark and cold at the higher latitudes on Mars, and in high-radiation fields such as those around Jupiter. Radioisotope power systems (RPSs) are the only available power source that can operate unconstrained in these environments for the long periods of time needed to accomplish many missions, and plutonium-238 (238Pu) is the only practical isotope for fueling them. Plutonium-238 does not occur in nature. The committee does not believe that there is any additional 238Pu (or any operational 238Pu production facilities) available anywhere in the world.The total amount of 238Pu available for NASA is fixed, and essentially all of it is already dedicated to support several pending missions-the Mars Science Laboratory, Discovery 12, the Outer Planets Flagship 1 (OPF 1), and (perhaps) a small number of additional missions with a very small demand for 238Pu. If the status quo persists, the United States will not be able to provide RPSs for any subsequent missions.

Author: John Wistar Simpson
Publisher:
ISBN: 9780894485596
Category : Nuclear engineering
Languages : en
Pages : 0

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Book Description
John Simpson, former president of Westinghouse Power Systems Company and past president of the American Nuclear Society, provides a vibrant account of the events associated with the birth of the nuclear industry. Simpson's account of his career and the many turns it took is formidable. Sixteen chapters provide the reader with a historical perspective portrayed by a person whose role, energy, and contributions to the development of fission power are significant. Simpson takes you through the building and operation of the first submarine, nuclear propulsion units, Shippingport, the astronuclear years, and early commercial power. Written largely in narrative and anecdotal form, the technical story is also provided. The final chapter provides a summary and the author's thought-provoking view of the future of nuclear power.

Author: William J. Emrich Jr.
Publisher: Elsevier
ISBN: 0323900313
Category : Technology & Engineering
Languages : en
Pages : 430

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Book Description
Principles of Nuclear Rocket Propulsion, Second Edition continues to put the technical and theoretical aspects of nuclear rocket propulsion into a clear and unified presentation, providing an understanding of the physical principles underlying the design and operation of nuclear fission-based rocket engines. This new edition expands on existing material and adds new topics, such as antimatter propulsion, nuclear rocket startup, new fuel forms, reactor stability, and new advanced reactor concepts. This new edition is for aerospace and nuclear engineers and advanced students interested in nuclear rocket propulsion. - Provides an understanding of the physical principles underlying the design and operation of nuclear fission-based rocket engines - Includes a number of example problems to illustrate the concepts being presented - Contains an electronic version with interactive calculators and rotatable 3D figures to demonstrate the physical concepts being presented - Features an instructor website that provides detailed solutions to all chapter review questions

Author: David Buden
Publisher:
ISBN: 9780974144344
Category : Science
Languages : en
Pages : 277

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Book Description
The advantages of space nuclear fission power systems can be summarized as: compact size; low to moderate mass; long operating lifetimes; the ability to operate in extremely hostile environments; operation independent of the distance from the Sun or of the orientation to the Sun; and high system reliability and autonomy. In fact, as power requirements approach the tens of kilowatts and megawatts, fission nuclear energy appears to be the only realistic power option. The building blocks for space nuclear fission electric power systems include the reactor as the heat source, power generation equipment to convert the thermal energy to electrical power, waste heat rejection radiators and shielding to protect the spacecraft payload. The power generation equipment can take the form of either static electrical conversion elements that have no moving parts (e.g., thermoelectric or thermionic) or dynamic conversion components (e.g., the Rankine, Brayton or Stirling cycle). The U.S. has only demonstrated in space, or even in full systems in a simulated ground environment, uranium-zirconium-hydride reactor power plants. These power plants were designed for a limited lifetime of one year and the mass of scaled up power plants would probably be unacceptable to meet future mission needs. Extensive development was performed on the liquid-metal cooled SP-100 power systems and components were well on their way to being tested in a relevant environment. A generic flight system design was completed for a seven year operating lifetime power plant, but not built or tested. The former USSR made extensive use of space reactors as a power source for radar ocean reconnaissance satellites. They launched some 31 missions using reactors with thermoelectric power conversion systems and two with thermionic converters. Current activities are centered on Fission Surface Power for lunar applications. Activities are concentrating on demonstrating component readiness. This book will discuss the components that make up a nuclear fission power system, the principal requirements and safety issues, various development programs, status of developments, and development issues.

Author: George Dyson
Publisher: Macmillan
ISBN: 9780805072846
Category : Science
Languages : en
Pages : 372

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Book Description
"Project Orion describes one of the most awesome 'might have beens' (and may yet bes!) of the space age. This is essential reading for anyone interested in government bureaucracies and the military industrial complex." -Sir Arthur C. Clarke