Space nuclear power: technology, policy, and risk considerations in human missions to Mars

There is a large discrepancy between potential needs for nuclear propulsion and power systems for the human exploration of Mars and the current status of R&D funding, public opinion, and governmental support for these technologies. Mission planners and spacecraft designers, energized by the recent claims of possible discovery of life on Mars and responding to increased public interest in the human exploration of Mars, frequently propose nuclear reactors and radioisotope thermoelectric generators (RTGs) for interplanetary spacecraft propulsion and for power supply on the surface of Mars. These plans and designs typically assume that reactors will be available "on-the-shelf," and do not take the extensive R&D costs required to develop such reactors into consideration. However, it is likely that current U.S. policies, if unchanged, will prohibit the launch of nuclear reactors and large RTGs in response to a perceived risk by the public.     

基于氢化镁的核电/核热双模共质空间核动力技术

针对未来空间任务对能源和动力日益提高的需求,提出了基于氢化镁的核电核热双模共质空间核动力技术。该技术以一种储氢密度高、热稳定性较好,能够以常温常压储存的氢化镁作为工质,通过核能加热后氢化镁分解成为核热推进可用的高压氢气和电推进可用的单质镁,并结合高效动态热电转换系统,形成大功率核电源、大功率超高比冲核电推进、高比冲氢气核热推进以及大推力镁核热推进多种工作模式。基于氢化镁的多模共质空间核动力技术解决了低温推进剂、气态工质在空间应用时的存储安全性和存储密度低的问题,其具备的多种工作模式能够针对不同任务需求提供相应的能源或者动力输出,提高核动力飞行器任务能力。     

SPS — time for a pilot plant

Scientists have expended much energy researching SPS but their theories have never yet been realistically tested. It is time for this to change and SPS 2000 — a Japanese-sponsored project to construct and operate a pilot plant to supply electricity to residents of equatorial zones — could provide the means. The project and its benefits are described and the political—economic imperatives for undertaking it presented. The author argues that there are cogent — and practical — reasons for funding a pilot plant, especially given the vast sums spent on other space activities, and on nuclear power, although the latter has never lived up to expectations.     

核热推进反应堆燃料元件发展概述

深空探测作为我国航天领域未来的重要任务之一,需要性能更高的推进系统提供动力。核热推进系统具有高比冲、大推力、长运行寿命、可重复启动等优点,可为未来深空探测任务提供可靠的动力支撑。经过了60多年的发展,核热推进固态堆芯燃料元件被研制出了多种类型,如六棱柱石墨基燃料元件、扭曲条带燃料元件、六棱柱金属陶瓷燃料元件、球形包覆颗粒燃料元件、MITEE型燃料元件、SLHC型燃料元件、Grooved Ring型燃料元件等。总结归纳了核热推进固态堆芯燃料元件的发展状况,提出了发展核热推进固态堆芯燃料元件的关键技术,可为我国核热推进系统燃料元件的研制提供借鉴。     

国外空间推进技术现状和发展趋势

空间推进技术通常可分为常规化学推进、电推进、微推进和新型推进4大类。常规化学推进是目前航天器的主要推进方式,性能继续提升。电推进已成功证明其优势和可靠性,在各种卫星和深空探测器上大量应用,且朝更宽泛功率的方向发展。蓬勃发展的微小卫星对微小推力、小质量、低功耗的微推进提出了迫切需求。无毒化学推进、太阳帆推进、核推进等新型推进技术正在加紧研制或进行空间飞行试验。首先综述国外卫星和深空探测器等航天器的各类空间推进技术应用和研究现状,然后分析其发展趋势,最后提出对我国空间推进技术的发展建议。     

核火箭原理、发展及应用

人类在不懈地对浩瀚的宇宙进行着探索,而强劲的推力是人类探索宇宙的关键。化学火箭在人类宇宙探索活动中书写了一页又一页的华丽篇章,现今在人类新的探索使命下,出现了激光、太阳能、微波、核热能等新的推进技术。在这些技术中,核火箭推进无疑是人类继续探索太空最有希望的技术之一。对核火箭的原理、发展状况以及应用前景进行了介绍。     

空间核动力平台电力管理系统的设计

空间核动力平台是一种全新的电源推进一体化航天器,其电力系统具有三相交流输出、工况多且复杂、母线电压体制多等特点。为了解决空间核动力平台负载供电诸多难题,通过对系统功能、负载类型、母线体制、组成配置、工作模式、控制机制等方面论证分析,提出了一种新型空间核动力平台电力管理系统架构。其中,变配电系统从硬件实现角度解决了基于布雷顿热电转换系统输出为负载稳态供电问题,自主控制系统从软件控制角度解决了主能源、辅助能源等多能源间流动控制以及负载暂态匹配问题,这为未来空间核动力平台电力管理系统研究工作奠定了基础。     

Santini memorial lecture: Space Challenges and Opportunities for Human Benefit

Since the beginning of the Space Age the public was fascinated by the great challenges that needed to be overcome, but also inspired by the potential benefits that might arise from the utilization of space systems. This lecture examines the major technological breakthroughs that were necessary for many of the key space programs to succeed, and postulates the immediate and future benefits to humanity that became evident as a result of these advances. A dozen programs ranging from Sputnik and Apollo to the Global Navigation Satellite System are reviewed in view of the technical challenges in elements such as propulsion, power, structures, computing, guidance and control, spectrum management and payloads. Challenges in the cost of space launch, large structures, debris mitigation, humans in space and commercial promise are discussed and opportunities for improvements in the future are postulated.     

Space nuclear power and the UN: A growing fiasco

The work of the UN Committee on Peaceful Uses of Outer Space was intensified following the accidental re-entry of the Soviet Cosmos 954 nuclear-powered satellite in 1978. But anyone thinking the purpose of the Committee's activity was to prevent the recurrence of such an accident will have been disabused by the USA's recent repudiation of the guidelines for the safe use of nuclear power supplies. The UN is good for political manoeuvring, argues the author of this Viewpoint, but real progress towards the safer use of nuclear power in space will originate elsewhere.     

烃类推进剂航天动力技术进展与展望未来

为研究烃类推进剂航天动力技术在中国的后续发展和未来应用方向,对比分析煤油、甲烷和丙烷等典型烃类推进剂的物理化学性质和应用特性,简要介绍烃类推进剂航天动力在一次性运载火箭、可重复使用运载器、高性能上面级推进、无毒空间推进和吸气式推进领域的发展动态及应用状况。当前国内外航天动力系统的发展和应用情况表明,以液氧煤油发动机和液氧甲烷发动机为代表的烃类推进剂航天动力将引领未来高性能低成本航天推进系统的发展趋势,依照中国液氧/烃火箭发动机的研制进展和技术水平,以其为核心的新型动力体系在中国未来的天地往返、载人登月和深空探测等多任务适应性方面具有良好应用前景。     

核热推进载人火星探测方案设计

针对载人火星探测任务,结合我国现有技术基础,提出我国载人火星探测方案,重点研究载人火星探测任务推进系统的设计。首先,综合考虑载人深空探测任务的约束,采用Pork-Chop图设计了适用于不同任务场景的转移轨迹;然后,参考我国空间站技术,基于核热推进系统设计了我国载人火星探测任务的飞船;最后,对核热推进系统的发动机台数和推力进行了优化,得到了适用于不同任务场景的最优推进系统组合方案。本文所研究内容为我国未来载人火星探测任务提供了有益参考。     

Space exploration policy: Towards an operational vision

This article examines the historical and social context of space exploration policy. It seeks to reconcile a contradiction between the visionary grandeur of space and public perceptions of space exploration as the province of a narrowly-focused political interest group. The author argues that perceptions of the space age are artificially restricted by dating its origins to Sputnik and Apollo and allowing it to be dominated by science and technology objectives devoid of a more encompassing social framework. Guiding principles for developing space exploration activities in a broader conceptual and operational framework are offered.     

新概念推进技术及其应用前景

综合评述了到目前为止人们所提出的几种新概念推进系统(包括核热能推进、反物质推进、束能推进、微推进、绳系推进和太阳能推进等)技术方案的特点,分析了所存在的主要技术难点,并简要论述了其未来的发展和应用前景。     

Scenarios which may lead to the rise of an asteroid-based technical civilisation

In a previous paper, the author described a hypothetical development path of technical civilisations which has the following stages: planet dwellers, asteroid dwellers, interstellar travellers, interstellar space dwellers. In this paper, several scenarios are described which may cause the rise of an asteroid-based technical civilisation. Before such a transition may take place, certain space technologies must be developed fully (now these exist only in very preliminary forms): closed-cycle biological life support systems, space manufacturing systems, electrical propulsion systems. After mastering these technologies, certain events may provide the necessary financial means and social impetus for the foundation of the first asteroid-based colonies. In the first scenario, a rich minority group becomes persecuted and they decide to leave the Earth. In the second scenario, a "cold war"-like situation exists and the leaders of the superpowers order the creation of asteroid-based colonies to show off their empires' technological (and financial) grandiosity. In the third scenario, the basic situation is similar to the second one, but in this case the asteroids are not just occupied by the colonists. With several decades of hard work, an asteroid can be turned into a kinetic energy weapon which can provide the same (or greater) threat as the nuclear arsenal of a present superpower. In the fourth scenario, some military asteroids are moved to Earth-centred orbits and utilised as "solar power satellites" (SPS). This would be a quite economical solution because a "military asteroid" already contains most of the important components of an SPS (large solar collector arrays, power distribution devices, orbit modifying rocket engine), one should add only a large microwave transmitter.     

Propulsion of space ships by nuclear explosion

Recent progress in the research on deuterium-tritium (D-T) inertially confined microexplosions encourages one to reconsider the nuclear propulsion of spaceships based on the concept originally proposed in the Orion project. We discuss first the acceleration of medium-sized spaceships by D-T explosions whose output is in the range of 0.1–10 t of TNT. The launching of such a ship into an Earth orbit or beyond by a large nuclear explosion in an underground cavity is sketched out in the second section of the paper, and finally we consider a hypothetical Mars mission based on these concepts. In the conclusion it is argued that propulsion based on the Orion concept only is not the best method for interplanetary travel owing to the very large number of nuclear explosion required. A combination of a super gun and subsequent rocket propulsion using advanced chemical fuels appears to be the best solution for space flights of the near future.From Kosmicheskie Issledovaniya, Vol. 43, No. 1, 2005, pp. 67–75.Original English Text Copyright © 2005 by Linhart, Kravárik.     

Thoughts on Europe's future in space

Fearing that mistaken decisions may be made, the author offers his comments to clarify the future possibilities for Ariane, Hermes and Columbus. The decisions soon to be taken on the manned spaceflight programme will affect the future of the entire European space programme. The possibilities for air-breathing propulsion are also reviewed.     

Space technology as a factor of international stabilization and destabilization

Control of space-related assets represents a factor of civilian as well as military power. If countries seek unilateral access to space technology for the purpose of aggression against others, international peace and stability are at risk. The author discusses the role of the non-proliferation regime for space technology within an integrated strategy for the promotion of international security and development. He suggests that under certain conditions, allowing the further spread of the use of space-based capabilities can contribute to the stabilization of regional conflict situations. However, certain safeguards, controls and restraints should be required from potential new space powers.     

But what is the true rationale for human spaceflight?

Human interest in spaceflight is ancient. It is therefore ironic that, at a time when humans finally have the capability to travel in space, the notion that we should do so is being questioned. The author analyses the reasons for this — the historical/political and technological contingency of the Space Age and the sudden falling away of the conditions which drove space activity — and in the process provides a critique of the forgoing article and the tendency to search for utilitarian justifications of human spaceflight. He argues rather that space programmes will thrive only when driven by non-material cultural and political forces. US-Russian cooperation, which has principally been undertaken for geopolitical reasons is a model for the future.     

The contest for leadership in East Asia: Japanese and Chinese approaches to outer space

Japan and China, as two advanced spacefaring nations in Asia-Pacific region, are often referred to as rivals in space. China's successful manned space launch program in 2003 and ASAT test in 2007 were considered as turning points which potentially introduces a “space race in Asia”. This article argues that there are three defining arenas in a space race: competition for prestige or soft power, competition over military capability or hard power, and competition of international services or public goods. It analyzes the objectives, norms and logics of space policy in Japan and China, and argues that these two countries have quite different thinking over what to do in space, explaining that they are playing different games in the first two arenas. However, Japan and China are competing for leadership and influence over the region. APRSAF and APSCO, two similar regional space organizations, are the vehicles for this competition. It concludes that there is a space race only in the third arena as a competition for leadership in Asia.     

On the capabilities of nano electrokinetic thrusters for space propulsion

A theoretical analysis considering the capabilities of nano electrokinetic thrusters for space propulsion is presented. The work describes an electro-hydro-dynamic model of the electrokinetic flow in nano-channels and represents the first attempt to exploit the advantages of the electrokinetic effect as the basis for a new class of nano-scale thrusters suitable for space propulsion. Among such advantages are their small volume, fundamental simplicity, overall low mass, and actuation efficiency. Their electrokinetic efficiency is affected by the slip length, surface charge, pH and molarity. These design variables are analyzed and optimized for the highest electrokinetic performance inside nano-channels. The optimization is done for power consumption, thrust and specific impulse resulting in high theoretical efficiency ∼99% with corresponding high thrust-to-power ratios. Performance curves are obtained for the electrokinetic design variables showing that high molarity electrolytes lead to high thrust and specific impulse values, whereas low molarities provide highest thrust-to-power ratios and efficiencies. A theoretically designed 100 nm wide by 1 μm long emitter optimized using the ideal performance charts developed would deliver thrusts from 5 to 43 μN, specific impulse from 60 to 210 s, and would have power consumption between 1–15 mW. It should be noted that although this is a detail analytical analysis no prototypes exist and any future experimental work will face challenges that could affect the final performance. By designing an array composed of thousands of these single electrokinetic emitters, it would result in a flexible and scalable propulsion system capable of providing a wide range of thrust control for different mission scenarios and maintaining very high efficiencies and thrust-to-power ratio by varying the number of emitters in use at any one time.