Advanced Propulsion Systems in Space Exploration.docVIP

Advanced Propulsion Systems in Space Exploration Anand Natarajan Alexander Dawson School Undergraduate Space Research Symposium April 3, 2004 Abstract 1 1 Introduction 2 2 Goals and Objectives 3 3 The Need for New Propulsion 3 4 Related Research Projects 4 5 Advanced Concepts 5 5.1 Nuclear Fission 5 5.2 Nuclear Fusion 6 5.3 Antimatter 7 5.4 Beamed Energy Propulsion 8 6 Conclusions 9 7 References 11 8 Appendix 1 Abstract Using current chemical propulsion techniques, it is not feasible or useful to launch manned interplanetary expeditions farther than Mars, due to strain on human health and on life support systems. From analyzing data on conceptual designs of chemical propulsion spacecraft it can be concluded that chemical propulsion is not the way to the future of space exploration. The travel time is simply too long to facilitate a manned flight. Therefore, I believe that some exotic new propulsion system is required for an interplanetary manned spacecraft. A near term possibility for new a propulsion system is nuclear fission propulsion. This would use a nuclear fission reactor to heat a working fluid and expel it outwards, producing thrust. While useful in the near future, this method would use unsafe radioactive fuels and would be very dangerous in the event of a failure. Another option is nuclear fusion propulsion. This would use energy from a fusion reactor in various ways to create thrust. This would be much more useful, as it would not be as radioactive and would use cheap fuels. However, problems with current reactor designs would have to be eliminated. A possible design would be Inertial-Electrostatic confinement, which uses electric fields to confine fuel ions. A third example is antimatter propulsion, using the annihilation of protons and antiprotons to produce energy. This is very far in the future but is the perfect rocket engine, producing extremely high amounts of energy, with mass being converted entirely to energy. Introduction The current best