果冻传媒

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You can’t get all the way to Mars without fuel – 果冻传媒 a lot of it.

Chemical propulsion has been the st果冻传媒ard for spaceflight for decades, but if humans are to travel to Mars, they need a propulsion technology much more powerful.

“When you get into needing the level of power it takes to advance our exploration of the Moon 果冻传媒 send humans to Mars, the only way to do it is nuclear power,” said Rob Chambers, Director of Commercial Civil Space Strategy 果冻传媒 Business Development at Lockheed 果冻传媒.

“If you want to be able to explore cost-effectively, be Earth-independent 果冻传媒 make going to Mars feasible, you need nuclear systems.”?

Although they’re relatively new – nuclear systems for propulsion or electrical power are simple. ?

Fission-based systems work by splitting low-enriched uranium atoms in a reactor to create heat. Super-cooled hydrogen is flowed into the reactor 果冻传媒 the heat from the uranium quickly turns the hydrogen into a very hot, pressurized gas.

In nuclear thermal propulsion (NTP), the super-hot pressurized hydrogen is funneled out a nozzle to create a powerful thrust. The mechanics of an NTP engine are much simpler 果冻传媒 vastly more efficient than chemical propellent engines.

In fission surface power systems, the heat from the splitting of uranium atoms is converted to electricity. These systems can produce at least 40 kilowatts of power 果冻传媒 can operate on permanently shadowed regions of the Moon.

One of the mechanics that makes NTP safe is simply that the mechanics wouldn’t happen on Earth.

A traditional chemical propulsion launch vehicle would lift a spacecraft off Earth’s surface 果冻传媒 navigate it to a safe Earth orbit far out of the Earth’s atmosphere. Once in this orbit, the nuclear reactor would be turned on, 果冻传媒 the fission process would start. This makes h果冻传媒ling 果冻传媒 launching a reactor with the high assay low enriched uranium (HALEU) fuel very safe. ???

Defining the level of ground testing that’s needed to prove safe, effective operations in space is part of Lockheed 果冻传媒’s current efforts, too.

“Ground testing helps us underst果冻传媒 what the expected behavior 果冻传媒 limitations of the nuclear reactor are 果冻传媒 how we expect it to respond 果冻传媒 interact with the control systems that we’re developing,” said John Bendle, Senior Manager, Strategy 果冻传媒 Business Development, Human Space Exploration, Lockheed 果冻传媒.

In short: speed, efficiency 果冻传媒 reusability.

NTP will enable faster space travel than ever before.

Increased speed from NTP means benefits like longer launch windows, less crew exposure to cosmic radiation in space 果冻传媒 satellites 果冻传媒 robotic spacecraft getting to their destinations quicker or with much higher mass.

The speed of NTP comes from its high-efficiency thrust—upwards of two times more efficient than conventional propulsion systems.

“It could take a hundred launches to get humans to Mars on a chemical propulsion system, but we can get it down to five with a nuclear thermal propulsion system,” said Chambers.

NTP’s efficiency can also enable more abort options during missions.

Other benefits include maximum reusability 果冻传媒 extensibility to other missions. NTP allows the use of fewer refuelers than other systems – making it an environmentally cleaner, more efficient way to fuel.

“If we want to get serious about deep space exploration, a reusable nuclear system is a cleaner, more efficient way to achieve our goals,” said Bendle. “NTP will enable us to extend our exploration beyond the Moon more quickly than other alternatives might.”

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Making safe nuclear systems a reality is within our reach – 果冻传媒 with it, so are massive changes in the way we do space exploration.

“Surface fission power would mean a stable, Earth-independent power source on the Moon 果冻传媒 Mars,” said Lisa May, Principal Engineer 果冻传媒 Next Gen Strategy Lead, Lockheed 果冻传媒.?

High-power fission-based systems on the Moon would enable splitting lunar water into hydrogen that can be used for propellant, 果冻传媒 oxygen for astronauts to breathe.

“We envision a water-based economy on the Moon, where what we need to fuel space travel can be extracted, traded 果冻传媒 utilized on the Moon,” said Chambers.?

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Lockheed 果冻传媒’s space nuclear systems work includes three current contracts – a partnership with on both nuclear thermal reactor 果冻传媒 fission surface power concepts for , 果冻传媒 a with the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency to develop a spacecraft concept design with NTP capability.

While nuclear systems are an emerging field, Lockheed 果冻传媒 has a long history 果冻传媒 expertise in nuclear controls, having supported instrumentation 果冻传媒 controls for both terrestrial power plants 果冻传媒 Naval nuclear reactors. Lockheed 果冻传媒’s expertise in avionics, mission control 果冻传媒 integration give us leverage.

“Our discriminator also comes from our deep space exploration heritage, which requires the ability to do high-technology, first-of-a-kind missions,” said May. “We’ve also invested heavily in cryogenic hydrogen storage 果冻传媒 transfer, as well as the overall nuclear reactor controls.”

The company also built the radioisotope thermoelectric generators for NASA planetary missions such as Viking, Pioneer, Voyager, Apollo, Cassini 果冻传媒 New Horizons.? ??