Location

Howard Johnson Plaza-Hotel, Columbia/Enterprise Rooms

Start Date

23-4-1992 1:00 PM

Description

The Space Exploration Initiative (SEI) calls for a return to the Moon and carrying out human exploration of Mars. Trips to Mars involve considerably more time and more complex operations than trips to the Moon; hence, there is a keen interest in developing better space transportation systems. Nuclear propulsion, either nuclear thermal propulsion (NTP) or nuclear electric propulsion (NEP), offers the potential of reduced trip times and/or reduced mass into low Earth orbit, compared to chemical propulsion systems . In addition, the greater performance benefits of nuclear propulsion can provide the added margin for greater operational flexibility, including mission abort options and increased launch windows. During the 1950's and 1960's, experimental and analytical studies showed the feasibility of nuclear propulsion. NASA, in cooperation with other agencies and organizations, is currently planning a technology development program for nuclear propulsion. The overall objective is to develop at least one NTP concept and one NEP concept for piloted and robotic (e.g., cargo) missions to Mars.

Share

COinS
 
Apr 23rd, 1:00 PM

Paper Session III-B - Journey into Tomorrow: Developing Nuclear Propulsion for the Space Exploration Initiative

Howard Johnson Plaza-Hotel, Columbia/Enterprise Rooms

The Space Exploration Initiative (SEI) calls for a return to the Moon and carrying out human exploration of Mars. Trips to Mars involve considerably more time and more complex operations than trips to the Moon; hence, there is a keen interest in developing better space transportation systems. Nuclear propulsion, either nuclear thermal propulsion (NTP) or nuclear electric propulsion (NEP), offers the potential of reduced trip times and/or reduced mass into low Earth orbit, compared to chemical propulsion systems . In addition, the greater performance benefits of nuclear propulsion can provide the added margin for greater operational flexibility, including mission abort options and increased launch windows. During the 1950's and 1960's, experimental and analytical studies showed the feasibility of nuclear propulsion. NASA, in cooperation with other agencies and organizations, is currently planning a technology development program for nuclear propulsion. The overall objective is to develop at least one NTP concept and one NEP concept for piloted and robotic (e.g., cargo) missions to Mars.

 

To view the content in your browser, please download Adobe Reader or, alternately,
you may Download the file to your hard drive.

NOTE: The latest versions of Adobe Reader do not support viewing PDF files within Firefox on Mac OS and if you are using a modern (Intel) Mac, there is no official plugin for viewing PDF files within the browser window.