The University of Southampton
University of Southampton Institutional Repository

Development of a high power Nuclear Electric Propulsion System for interplanetary missions

Development of a high power Nuclear Electric Propulsion System for interplanetary missions
Development of a high power Nuclear Electric Propulsion System for interplanetary missions
There is a renewed interest in the development of nuclear fission power sources for space applications. With the large growth in the space sector, missions requiring nuclear fission reactors are again being considered, as demonstrated by NASA planning to fly a prototype nuclear thermal propulsion system 2025. Example missions include: to the Moon, as part of human’s return to the lunar environment, space tugs for heavy cargo transport, and missions exploring the far solar system where solar power is unfeasible. Many of these missions require a nuclear fission power system for operating a high power electric propulsion system (i.e. an ion thruster) that drives the spacecraft towards these distant endeavours. As part of a UK Space Agency funded consortium, through its enabling space exploration call, this paper presents our work to develop a cohesive and concurrently designed nuclear electric propulsion system, with the electric propulsion system designed from outset for integration of a space suitable nuclear fission reactor, and vice versa. Within the minimum year-long project, a Hall ion thruster has been developed for operation at high power, with a power requirement of at least 10 kW. The Hall ion thruster is designed for operation with a variety of different propellants, including both standard gaseous propellants and also condensable propellants such as magnesium. These propellants require heating into a vapour phase, which can be completed using excess heat available from the nuclear fission reactor system. This thruster has been designed, and will be manufactured for testing to be completed within the University of Southampton facilities in the autumn of 2023. From the nuclear reactor perspective, we have developed a nuclear reactor concept within the 10 –100 kW range that can be integrated with the electric propulsion system. We will make use of Low Enriched Uranium (LEU) Tri-structural Isotropic (TRISO) fuel particles, and through partners expertise previously developed components wherever possible. Two power conversion system options will be considered: Stirling Engines and static Thermo-Electric (TE) methods. Using our broad computational tools for the analysis of the proposed reactor type and associated power conversion systems, core physics, including both neutronic and thermal, will be assessed with tools that are computationally efficient, allowing the use of global optimisation methods. This enables the effective exploration of the many trade-offs that exist to find fission power systems that have minimal mass and volume whilst meeting mission requirements.
integration, ion thrusters, Nuclear fission, Propulsion
Tirila, Vlad-George
b72e5d31-b19e-4450-b3f2-a752b235a7ec
Munro-O'Brien, Thomas Francis
51d611e5-4cf7-4af5-9f53-c593de0df64c
Negre, Ben
99536bf2-ed15-410f-98f2-0be417e814e7
Wittig, Alex
3a140128-b118-4b8c-9856-a0d4f390b201
Ryan, Charlie
3627e47b-01b8-4ddb-b248-4243aad1f872
Lambert, James
99638c93-d832-481c-b927-1eae323bba04
Dinan, Richard
2b303504-9e56-4c97-933b-269faefdb9f2
Malley, David
6c9a73cb-ba26-4635-972d-ffed2107cc5e
Syed, Tauseef
fa23c99a-8c55-4a8d-8a0a-e94ea8e10ede
Reed, Nathaniel
0408d60b-aa10-455d-a16f-14cf76c41bc5
Schwageraus, Eugene
410077e1-2411-4b9f-842e-1334da632b10
Tirila, Vlad-George
b72e5d31-b19e-4450-b3f2-a752b235a7ec
Munro-O'Brien, Thomas Francis
51d611e5-4cf7-4af5-9f53-c593de0df64c
Negre, Ben
99536bf2-ed15-410f-98f2-0be417e814e7
Wittig, Alex
3a140128-b118-4b8c-9856-a0d4f390b201
Ryan, Charlie
3627e47b-01b8-4ddb-b248-4243aad1f872
Lambert, James
99638c93-d832-481c-b927-1eae323bba04
Dinan, Richard
2b303504-9e56-4c97-933b-269faefdb9f2
Malley, David
6c9a73cb-ba26-4635-972d-ffed2107cc5e
Syed, Tauseef
fa23c99a-8c55-4a8d-8a0a-e94ea8e10ede
Reed, Nathaniel
0408d60b-aa10-455d-a16f-14cf76c41bc5
Schwageraus, Eugene
410077e1-2411-4b9f-842e-1334da632b10

Tirila, Vlad-George, Munro-O'Brien, Thomas Francis, Negre, Ben, Wittig, Alex, Ryan, Charlie, Lambert, James, Dinan, Richard, Malley, David, Syed, Tauseef, Reed, Nathaniel and Schwageraus, Eugene (2023) Development of a high power Nuclear Electric Propulsion System for interplanetary missions. 74th International Astronautical Congress: Global Challenges and Opportunities: Give Space a Chance, , Baku, Azerbaijan. 02 - 06 Oct 2023. 13 pp .

Record type: Conference or Workshop Item (Paper)

Abstract

There is a renewed interest in the development of nuclear fission power sources for space applications. With the large growth in the space sector, missions requiring nuclear fission reactors are again being considered, as demonstrated by NASA planning to fly a prototype nuclear thermal propulsion system 2025. Example missions include: to the Moon, as part of human’s return to the lunar environment, space tugs for heavy cargo transport, and missions exploring the far solar system where solar power is unfeasible. Many of these missions require a nuclear fission power system for operating a high power electric propulsion system (i.e. an ion thruster) that drives the spacecraft towards these distant endeavours. As part of a UK Space Agency funded consortium, through its enabling space exploration call, this paper presents our work to develop a cohesive and concurrently designed nuclear electric propulsion system, with the electric propulsion system designed from outset for integration of a space suitable nuclear fission reactor, and vice versa. Within the minimum year-long project, a Hall ion thruster has been developed for operation at high power, with a power requirement of at least 10 kW. The Hall ion thruster is designed for operation with a variety of different propellants, including both standard gaseous propellants and also condensable propellants such as magnesium. These propellants require heating into a vapour phase, which can be completed using excess heat available from the nuclear fission reactor system. This thruster has been designed, and will be manufactured for testing to be completed within the University of Southampton facilities in the autumn of 2023. From the nuclear reactor perspective, we have developed a nuclear reactor concept within the 10 –100 kW range that can be integrated with the electric propulsion system. We will make use of Low Enriched Uranium (LEU) Tri-structural Isotropic (TRISO) fuel particles, and through partners expertise previously developed components wherever possible. Two power conversion system options will be considered: Stirling Engines and static Thermo-Electric (TE) methods. Using our broad computational tools for the analysis of the proposed reactor type and associated power conversion systems, core physics, including both neutronic and thermal, will be assessed with tools that are computationally efficient, allowing the use of global optimisation methods. This enables the effective exploration of the many trade-offs that exist to find fission power systems that have minimal mass and volume whilst meeting mission requirements.

Text
IAC-2023-NEP Project paper_V4 - Version of Record
Restricted to Repository staff only
Request a copy

More information

Published date: 5 October 2023
Venue - Dates: 74th International Astronautical Congress: Global Challenges and Opportunities: Give Space a Chance, , Baku, Azerbaijan, 2023-10-02 - 2023-10-06
Related URLs:
Keywords: integration, ion thrusters, Nuclear fission, Propulsion

Identifiers

Local EPrints ID: 484197
URI: http://eprints.soton.ac.uk/id/eprint/484197
PURE UUID: a87d70d5-061a-49c9-8021-32a480951458
ORCID for Vlad-George Tirila: ORCID iD orcid.org/0000-0002-2139-2686
ORCID for Thomas Francis Munro-O'Brien: ORCID iD orcid.org/0000-0002-8387-3143
ORCID for Alex Wittig: ORCID iD orcid.org/0000-0002-4594-0368

Catalogue record

Date deposited: 13 Nov 2023 17:53
Last modified: 07 Jun 2024 01:57

Export record

Contributors

Author: Vlad-George Tirila ORCID iD
Author: Thomas Francis Munro-O'Brien ORCID iD
Author: Ben Negre
Author: Alex Wittig ORCID iD
Author: Charlie Ryan
Author: James Lambert
Author: Richard Dinan
Author: David Malley
Author: Tauseef Syed
Author: Nathaniel Reed
Author: Eugene Schwageraus

Download statistics

Downloads from ePrints over the past year. Other digital versions may also be available to download e.g. from the publisher's website.

View more statistics

Atom RSS 1.0 RSS 2.0

Contact ePrints Soton: eprints@soton.ac.uk

ePrints Soton supports OAI 2.0 with a base URL of http://eprints.soton.ac.uk/cgi/oai2

This repository has been built using EPrints software, developed at the University of Southampton, but available to everyone to use.

We use cookies to ensure that we give you the best experience on our website. If you continue without changing your settings, we will assume that you are happy to receive cookies on the University of Southampton website.

×