DIRD_11-DIRD_Advanced_Nuclear_Propulsion_for_Manned_Deep_Space_Missions.pdf

UNCLASSIFIED / (PO?RoOPEEGEA-UGE-O hie Defense Intelligence Reference Document HS Acquisition Threat Support 11 March 2010 ICOD: 1 December 2009 DIA-08 -1003-007 Advanced Nuclear Propulsion for Manned Deep Space Missions UNCLASSIFIED / -2@2@EE3-62A UG Obie

UNCLASSIFIED / POR O@ERICEESr- Ore Advanced Nuclear Propulsion for Manned Deep Space Missions Prepared by: (b)(3):10 USC 424 Author: (b)(6) Administrative Note COPYRIGHT WARNING: Further dissemination of the photographs in this publication is not authorized. This product is one in a series of advanced technology reports produced in FY 2009 under the Defense Intelligence Agency, |(b)(3):10 USC 424 Advanced Aerospace Weapon System Applications (AAWSA) Program. Comments or questions pertaining to this document should be addressed to |(b)(3):10 USC 424;(b)(6) AAWSA Program Manager, Defense Intelli…

UNCLASSIFIED / / QB. QEELGE Ade SEO bial Contents PrePACO cocessccccnnsecesnnasenenenensnnenssecenanssene nanenaeananacsaaescenanetenancnanenenens nanananaeaeene sacenenene wa Introduction....... ovuccuepuvevevevavesenesese vasevupevesesusaseceseseses aveveseseveseresevasuresese vaneveraresecereres 1 Deuterium, Argon Ion Lasers, and KeV Superexplosives .........0c0e00 suave eauanseaeanenanauan 1 Magnetic Insulation and Inductive Charging............. ve eueeeerevenere pune cesesesernrucsrareeursces 3 Magnetic Insulation ..2...c:cccncsssenecnnensnenseeesseeceonensesesnseneneeusncecneneserenenna…

UNCLASSIFIED / /®@R-@F521G6EA-UG6E-Giieie Figures Figure 1. Ignition With 10’7-Ampere GeV Proton Beam. ......c0.0005 saseesesneececesasorees LL Figure 2. Pure Deuterium Fusion Explosion Ignited With an Intense Ion Beam... 14 Figure 3. Screening of the Spacecraft.......... baanenenananenensnananenaae panenanannnenae anenene vereeee 14 Figure 4. Superconducting “Atomic” Spaceship... ...ccsscessseeceseseeeensnsenesanne peeenananeeees 15 Figure 5. Argon Jon Laser [griter ....ccccsccsceserensusceuaneceucusceneucoeeccenauane waneucnenenananenares LF Figure 6. Autocatalytic Thermonuclear Detonation a…

UNCLASSIFIED / S6@R-@EELGbAdl dS Beale Advanced Nuclear Propulsion for Manned Deep Space Missions Preface My interest in space flight dates to when I was about 10 years old and received as a birthday gift a popular book about the feasibility of space flight. From it I learned for the first time about Oberth and Goddard and of the possibility of reaching the Moon with a multistage rocket. This occurred at the same time that Hahn and Strassmann announced the discovery of nuclear fission, with the possibility of an atomic bomb by a fission chain reaction. Having been born in Germany in 1929, I re…

UNCLASSIFIED / / BA RnQEELGLAIagSIn@ iia because He3 is not abundantly available everywhere, it was proposed to “mine” it from Jupiter’s atmosphere. Studies have been conducted on spacecraft propulsion with the matter- antimatter annihilation reaction, however, it is an enormous technical challenge to produce antimatter in appreciable quantities. The idea of using nano-gram amounts of antimatter for the ignition of fission-fusion microexplosions appears to have credible potential, but even there the production and storage of nano-gram quantities of antimatter pose serious technical problems (R…

- UNCLASSIFIED / / FO R-GPPECERE USE UNLT Introduction As Hermann Oberth proved for chemical rockets in his 1923 book The Rocket into Planetary Space (Reference 6), this paper will try'to prove for thermonuclear rockets the following: e At the present state of science and technology one can build spaceships driven by deuterium thermonuclear reactions, able to reach the outer limits of the solar system. e Such spaceships permit the manned exploration of the entire solar system and beyond, with the ultimate potential to reach nearby solar systems. e The cost in research and development to build …

UNCLASSIFIED / AR EELGH-VG6E One Society, it was proposed to “mine” He? from the atmosphere of Jupiter. In either case, the cost to recover appreciable amounts of He? would be very high. For the DD reaction, the situation is quite different because there the instantaneous burn with deuterium of the T- and He?- reaction products of deuterium makes possible a detonation wave in dense deuterium. In this detonation wave, only 38 percent of the energy released goes into neutrons, compared with 80 percent for the DT reaction. Deuterium can be extracted from water with relative ease in three steps: e…