TY - GEN
T1 - Establishing the Feasibility of the Centrifugal Nuclear Thermal Rocket
AU - Thomas, Dale
AU - Houts, Michael
AU - Walters, William
AU - Hollingsworth, Keith
AU - Frederick, Robert
AU - Cassibry, Jason
N1 - Publisher Copyright:
© 2021, American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics Inc, AIAA. All rights reserved.
PY - 2021
Y1 - 2021
N2 - The Centrifugal Nuclear Thermal Rocket (CNTR) is a Nuclear Thermal Propulsion (NTP) concept designed to heat propellant directly by the reactor fuel. The primary difference between the CNTR concept and traditional NTP systems is that rather than using traditional solid fuel elements, the CNTR uses liquid fuel with the liquid contained in rotating cylinders by centrifugal force. If the concept can be successfully realized, the CNTR would have a high specific impulse (~1800 s) at high thrust, which may enable viable near-term human Mars exploration by reducing round-trip times to ~420 days. The CNTR could also use storable propellants such as ammonia, methane, or hydrazine at an Isp of ~900 s, enabling long-term in-space storage of a dormant system. Significant engineering challenges must be addressed to establish the technical viability of the CNTR, and the plan for addressing these engineering challenges is the subject of this paper.
AB - The Centrifugal Nuclear Thermal Rocket (CNTR) is a Nuclear Thermal Propulsion (NTP) concept designed to heat propellant directly by the reactor fuel. The primary difference between the CNTR concept and traditional NTP systems is that rather than using traditional solid fuel elements, the CNTR uses liquid fuel with the liquid contained in rotating cylinders by centrifugal force. If the concept can be successfully realized, the CNTR would have a high specific impulse (~1800 s) at high thrust, which may enable viable near-term human Mars exploration by reducing round-trip times to ~420 days. The CNTR could also use storable propellants such as ammonia, methane, or hydrazine at an Isp of ~900 s, enabling long-term in-space storage of a dormant system. Significant engineering challenges must be addressed to establish the technical viability of the CNTR, and the plan for addressing these engineering challenges is the subject of this paper.
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85123400695&partnerID=8YFLogxK
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/citedby.url?scp=85123400695&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.2514/6.2021-3604
DO - 10.2514/6.2021-3604
M3 - Conference contribution
AN - SCOPUS:85123400695
SN - 9781624106118
T3 - AIAA Propulsion and Energy Forum, 2021
BT - AIAA Propulsion and Energy Forum, 2021
PB - American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics Inc, AIAA
T2 - AIAA Propulsion and Energy Forum, 2021
Y2 - 9 August 2021 through 11 August 2021
ER -