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ActiveProject(2012-2014)
DirectEnergyConversionForNuclearPropulsionAtLowSpecificMassProjectCenterInnovationFund:JSCCIF(AlsoIncludesJSCIRAD)ProgramN/A()
AtStart:3 Current:3 AtEnd:4
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9
AppliedResearch Development Demo&Test
TWDECTestArticleatNASAJohnsonSpaceCenter
ProjectTechnologyMaturity
ABSTRACT
TheprojectwillcontinuetheFY13JSCIR&D(October-2012toSeptember-2013)
effortinTravellingWaveDirectEnergyConversion(TWDEC)inorderto
demonstrateitspotentialasthecoreofahighpotential,game-changing,in-space
propulsiontechnology.TheTWDECconceptconvertsparticlebeamenergyinto
radiofrequency(RF)alternatingcurrentelectricalpower,suchascanbeusedto
heatthepropellantinaplasmathruster.Inamoreadvancedconcept(exploredin
thePhase1NIACproject),theTWDECcouldalsobeutilizedtoconditionthe
particlebeamsuchthatitmay...Readmoreonthelastpage.
TechnologyArea: SpacePower&EnergyStorageTA03(Primary)In-SpacePropulsionTechnologiesTA02(Secondary)
ANTICIPATEDBENEFITS
ToNASAunfunded&plannedmissions:WithsuccessfuldevelopmentofthissystembyNASAanditspartners,anintermediate
NASAinfusionstepwoulddemonstratemegawatt-classaneutronicfusion(p-11Bfusion),
TWDEC,andelectricpropulsion(e.g.,QuantumVacuumthruster,VASIMR)systemson
roboticmissionsintodeepspace.Humanvehiclesystemdevelopmentwouldthen
integratesuchsystemsintothe“ultimate”NASAapplication:sustainable,routinehuman
explorationofMarsand,withsuccessfulQ-thrusterdevelopment,...
Readmoreonthelastpage.
Printed4/17/2014 1
https://ntrs.nasa.gov/search.jsp?R=20140004802 2020-07-29T10:07:49+00:00Z
Contributing
Partners
U.S.Navy
UniversityofIllinois
ShellUSA
(moreonlastpage)
DETAILEDDESCRIPTION
Lowspecificmass(<3kg/kW)in-spaceelectricpowerandpropulsioncandrasticallyalterthe
paradigmforexplorationoftheSolarSystem,changinghumanMarsexplorationfroma3-year
epiceventtoanannualexpedition.Aspecificmassof~1kg/kWcanenable1-yearround-tripsto
Mars,regardlessofalignment,withthesamelaunchmasstolowEarthorbit(350mT)estimatedby
theMarsArchitecture5.0studyfora3-yearconjunctionmission.Keytoachievingsucha
propulsioncapabilityistheabilitytoconvert,athighefficiencyandwithonlyminimallosses
rejectedasheatviaradiators,theenergyofchargedparticlereactionproductsoriginatingfroman
advancedfissionoraneutronicfusionsourcedirectlyintoelectricityconditionedasrequiredto
poweranelectricthruster.TheTWDECconceptaccomplishesthisbyconvertingparticlebeam
energyintoradiofrequency(RF)alternatingcurrentelectricalpower,suchascanbeused...
DirectEnergyConversionForNuclearPropulsionAtLowSpecificMassProject
OtherOrganizations
PerformingWork
ElectricPowerResearch
Institute
MANAGEMENT
ProgramExecutive:JohnFalker
ProgramManager:RonaldClayton
ProjectManager:JohnScott
PrincipalInvestigator:JohnScott
Co-Investigator:AlfonsoTarditi
Printed4/17/2014 2
U.S.stateswithwork
Leadcenter:JohnsonSpaceCenter
DirectEnergyConversionForNuclearPropulsionAtLowSpecificMassProject
DETAILEDDESCRIPTION(CONT'D)
toheatthepropellantinaplasmathruster.
Theprojectiscoretothedevelopmentofmulti-MWpowerforelectricpropulsion.Thetechnologydevelopedwill
enablehighpowersystemswhichhavespecificmassinthelowsingle-digitsandwhicharesun-independent,
requirenoneutronshielding,andproducenoradioactivewaste.Thepowerlevelsandspecificmassthis
technologycouldprovidewill,whencombinedwitheitherhigh-efficiencyQ-thrustersorVASIMR-classplasma
thrusters,enablerapidhumanmissionstoMarsandbeyond.
ProjectInfusionPath:
Lowspecificmass(a–kg/kWe)in-spaceelectricpowerandpropulsioncandrasticallyaltertheparadigmfor
explorationoftheSolarSystem,changinghumanMarsexplorationfroma3-yearepiceventtoanannual
expedition.Anaof~1kg/kWecanenable1-yearround-tripstoMars,regardlessofopportunity,withthesame
launchmasstolowEarthorbit(350mT)estimatedbytheMarsArchitecture5.0studyfora3-yearconjunction
mission.Keytoachievingsuchapropulsioncapabilityistheabilitytoconvert,athighefficiencyandwithonly
minimallossesrejectedasheatviaradiators,theenergyofchargedparticlereactionproductsoriginatingfroman
aneutronicfusionsourcedirectlyintoelectricityconditionedasrequiredtopoweranelectricthruster.TheTWDEC
concept(originallyconceivedinJapaninthe1990’sforterrestrialfusionapplications)accomplishesthisby
convertingparticlebeamenergyintoradiofrequency(RF)alternatingcurrentelectricalpower,suchascanbeused
toheatthepropellantinaVASIMR-classplasmathruster.Inamoreadvancedconcept(exploredina2012Phase1
NIACproject),theTWDECcouldalsobeutilizedtoconditiontheparticlebeamsuchthatitmaytransferdirected
kineticenergytoatargetpropellantplasmaforthepurposeofincreasingthrustandoptimizingthespecificimpulse.
Whileothergovernmentagenciesand/orindustrypartnersarepursuinganeutronicfusionreactorsandplasma
propulsion,NASAJSCistheonlyentityadvancingthiscoreenergyconversiontechnology(Fig.3).
WithsuccessfuldevelopmentofthissystembyNASAanditspartners,anintermediateNASAinfusionstepwould
demonstratemegawatt-classaneutronicfusion,TWDEC,andelectricpropulsion(e.g.,Q-thruster,VASIMR)systems
onroboticmissionstotheJovianmoons.Humanvehiclesystemdevelopmentwouldthenintegratesuchsystems
intothe“ultimate”NASAapplication:sustainable,routinehumanexplorationofMarsand,withsuccessfulQ-
thrusterdevelopment,beyond.
Printed4/17/2014 3
DirectEnergyConversionForNuclearPropulsionAtLowSpecificMassProject
TECHNOLOGYDETAILS
AtStart:3 Current:3 AtEnd:4
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9
AppliedResearch
Development Demo&Test
DirectEnergyConversion
forNuclearPropulsionat
LowSpecificMass
TechnologyMaturity
TECHNOLOGYDESCRIPTION
Lowspecificmass(<3kg/kW)in-spaceelectricpowerandpropulsioncandrasticallyalterthe
paradigmforexplorationoftheSolarSystem,changinghumanMarsexplorationfroma3-year
epiceventtoanannualexpedition.Aspecificmassof~1kg/kWcanenable1-yearround-tripsto
Mars,regardlessofalignment,withthesamelaunchmasstolowEarthorbit(350mT)estimatedby
theMarsArchitecture5.0studyfora3-yearconjunctionmission.Keytoachievingsucha
propulsioncapabilityistheabilitytoconvert,athighefficiencyandwithonlyminimallosses
rejectedasheatviaradiators,theenergyofchargedparticlereactionproductsoriginatingfroman
advancedfissionoraneutronicfusionsourcedirectlyintoelectricityconditionedasrequiredto
poweranelectricthruster.TheTWDECconceptaccomplishesthisbyconvertingparticlebeam
energyintoradiofrequency(RF)alternatingcurrentelectricalpower,suchascanbeusedtoheat
thepropellantinaplasmathruster.
Thistechnologyiscategorizedasahardwaresubsystemforgroundscientificresearchoranalysis
TechnologyArea
TA03SpacePower&EnergyStorage(Primary)
TA02In-SpacePropulsionTechnologies(Secondary)
TechnicalMerit:TheTWDECmayofferanewparadigmforhumanexplorationoftheSolar
Systemthroughharnessingnuclearfissionandaneutronicfusionenergyatapowerlevelhigh
enoughandspecificmasslowenoughtoenableround-tripstoMarsofdurationunderoneyear.
Thisprojectwillexaminekeysystemintegrationassumptionsandrigorouslyassessthedegreeto
whichTWDECtechnologyatthecurrentstate-of-the-artcanbeoptimizedforspacecraftpower
applications.
InFY'14thefollowingObjectiveswillbemet;
ActivateJSCTWDECbreadboardtestarticle.ConductvalidationofTWDECsimulation
completedinFY13toraiseTWDECtechnologytoTRL...
PerformanceMetrics
Metric Unit Quantity
in-spacepowersystemspecificmass kg/kWe 1to3
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DirectEnergyConversionForNuclearPropulsionAtLowSpecificMassProject
TECHNOLOGYDETAILS
CAPABILITIESPROVIDED(CONT'D)4.
Buildspecificmassmodels,includingradiationshielding,ofTWDEC-FusionandTWDEC-Fissionpower
systemsforuseintrajectoryassessmentswithCOPERNICUSanalysistools.
Assesstheimpactofthelowspecific-massspacepropulsionenabledbyTWDEConMarshumanexploration
architectures.
POTENTIALAPPLICATIONSIn-SpacePropulsion,
GreenPowerforTerrestrialenergyneeds.
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DirectEnergyConversionForNuclearPropulsionAtLowSpecificMassProject
IMAGEGALLERY
12110-1376090270324.jpg
NASAJSCTWDECTestArticle2014
Printed4/17/2014 6
DirectEnergyConversionForNuclearPropulsionAtLowSpecificMassProject
ABSTRACT(CONTINUEDFROMPAGE1)
transferdirectedkineticenergytoatargetpropellantplasmaforthepurposeofincreasingthrustandoptimizingthe
specificimpulse.
TheoverallscopeoftheFY13first-yeareffortwastobuildonboththe2012Phase1NIACresearchandthe
analysisandtestresultsproducedbyJapaneseresearchersoverthepasttwentyyearstoassessthepotentialfor
spacecraftpropulsionapplications.TheprimaryobjectiveoftheFY13effortwastocreateparticle-in-cellcomputer
simulationsofaTWDEC.OtherobjectivesincludedconstructionofabreadboardTWDECtestarticle,preliminary
testcalibrationofthesimulations,andconstructionoffirstorderpowersystemmodelstofeedintomission
architectureanalyseswithCOPERNICUStools.DuetofundingcutsresultingfromtheFY13sequestration,onlythe
computersimulationsandassemblyofthebreadboardtestarticlewerecompleted.Thesimulations,however,areof
unprecedentedflexibilityandprecisionandwerepresentedatthe2013AIAAJointPropulsionConference.Also,
theassembledtestarticlewillprovideanioncurrentdensitytwoordersofmagnitudeabovethatavailablein
previousJapaneseexperiments,thusenablingthefirstdirectmeasurementsofpowergenerationfroma
TWDECforFY14.TheproposedFY14effortwillusethetestarticleforexperimentalvalidationofthecomputer
simulationsandthuscompletetoagreaterfidelitythemissionanalysisproductsoriginallyconceivedforFY13.
ThepreviousFY13effortfocusedoncomputersimulationsofTWDECphysicstobuildengineeringtoolswithwhich
todesignvehiclesystemsaroundTWDECpower.TheFY13projectalsosupportedinitialbuild-upofabench-top
systemforexperimentalvalidationoftheTWDECsimulationsdeveloped.
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DirectEnergyConversionForNuclearPropulsionAtLowSpecificMassProject
ANTICIPATEDBENEFITS
ToNASAunfunded&plannedmissions:(CONT'D)beyond.
FY'14Project-DevelopmentandimplementationofthistechnologywillbeindirectsupporttoOCT’sGrand
ChallengeforAccesstoSpace.Futureinfusionofthistechnologyintohumanandroboticexplorationmission
architectureswillbeidentifiedbytheHumanArchitectureTeamandtheMarsProgramPlanningGroup(MPPG).
ThistechnologywillenableanewclassofmissionsforhumanexplorationoftheSolarSystem.
Toothergovernmentagencies:Green,highdensity,energyfromthistechnologywouldsupportthemissionsoftheDepartmentofEnergyandofthe
DepartmentofDefense.
Tothecommercialspaceindustry:DevelopmentoftheTWDECwillsupporteffortsbytheDepartmentofEnergyandDepartmentofDefensetodevelop
aneutronicfusionreactors.
Tothenation:Successfuldevelopmentofthecompletepowersystemcouldenableterrestrial,highcapacityfactor,electricpower
generationthatproducesneithercarbonemissionsnornuclearwaste.Thereisofspecialinteresttotheutility
industryintheprivatesector.
Printed4/17/2014 8
DirectEnergyConversionForNuclearPropulsionAtLowSpecificMassProject
CONTRIBUTINGPARTNERS(CONT'D)
UniversityofMaryland
Printed4/17/2014 9
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