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1 Introduction and Background
Pages 9-24

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From page 9... ... INTRODUCTION AND BACKGROUND 9 1 Introduction and Background Two of the most constrained resources on all spacecraft are propulsion power and electrical power. Chemical systems have been used to propel spacecraft since the dawn of the Space Age. Read the entire page →
From page 10... ... 10 PRIORITIES IN SPACE SCIENCE ENABLED BY NUCLEAR POWER AND PROPULSION Reactors Fission Nuclear 1,000 ? million) Read the entire page →
From page 11... ... INTRODUCTION AND BACKGROUND 11 105 104 e) Nuclear Fission (kW 103 elv Le er 102 woP � Nuclear Fission � Solar ic 101 Chemical � Radioisotope/dynamic Electr � Solar 100 Solar � Radioisotope/passive � Solar 10-1 1 hour 1 day 1 month 1 year 10 years Duration of Use FIGURE 1.2 A schematic showing the relative applicability of various space-based sources of electrical power. Read the entire page →
From page 12... ... 12 PRIORITIES IN SPACE SCIENCE ENABLED BY NUCLEAR POWER AND PROPULSION however, retained managerial control of the development of RPSs and the science requirements for JIMO. The initiation, at about the same time, of the Vision for Space Exploration -- NASA's new program of coordinated robotic and human exploration of the Moon, Mars, and beyond (Box 1.1) Read the entire page →
From page 13... ... 5National Research Council, Issues and Opportunities Regarding the U.S. Space Program -- A Sum mary of a Workshop on National Space Policy, The National Academies Press, Washington, D.C., 2004. Read the entire page →
From page 14... ... RADIOISOTOPE POWER SYSTEMS RPSs have been used extensively on solar system exploration missions and to a somewhat lesser extent on space physics missions. The continued availability of these devices has been of great concern to the space science community. Read the entire page →
From page 15... ... 15 to be of as 2034 would intended 2033 is that thinking 75-kilonewton 's chart the 2032 NEP) or systems that or The agency Prometheus-? Read the entire page →
From page 16... ... 16 PRIORITIES IN SPACE SCIENCE ENABLED BY NUCLEAR POWER AND PROPULSION TABLE 1.2 Characteristics of Different Radioisotope Power System Technologies Power (We) Specific Mass (kg/kWe) Read the entire page →
From page 17... ... INTRODUCTION AND BACKGROUND 17 THE JUPITER ICY MOONS ORBITER JIMO was conceived as an ambitious mission designed to send a spacecraft to orbit three of the Galilean moons: Callisto, Ganymede, and Europa. The spacecraft would explore the moons and investigate their makeup, their history, and their potential for sustaining life in the vast subterranean oceans believed to exist under these moons' icy surfaces. Read the entire page →
From page 18... ... 18 PRIORITIES IN SPACE SCIENCE ENABLED BY NUCLEAR POWER AND PROPULSION Scientific Payload FIGURE 1.4 A schematic of one possible configuration for the Jupiter Icy Moons Orbiter. Also indicated are the various technologies that are under consideration for its various major subsystems. Read the entire page →
From page 19... ... INTRODUCTION AND BACKGROUND 19 FIGURE 1.5 Artist's impression of the so-called Prometheus Baseline 1 space craft proposed by NASA and the Northrop Grumman Corporation as the basic design to be used for the Jupiter Icy Moons Orbiter and, in descoped and enhanced versions respectively, for Prometheus 1 and possible JIMO follow-on missions to Saturn and other destinations in the outer solar system. The proposed spacecraft would stretch some 58 m from the tip of the nuclear reactor (top) Read the entire page →
From page 20... ... 20 PRIORITIES IN SPACE SCIENCE ENABLED BY NUCLEAR POWER AND PROPULSION Launch Issues JIMO would be the largest robotic spacecraft ever launched (for comparison, the launch mass of the CassiniHuygens spacecraft was some 5,800 kg) Read the entire page →
From page 21... ... In addition to calling for reopening the RPS production lines, the solar and space physics (SSP) survey also recommended that NASA assign a high priority to the development of advanced propulsion systems, including NEP.17 The solar system exploration (SSE) Read the entire page →
From page 22... ... These chapters also discuss important scientific developments since the surveys were issued and provide important background information on how these different scientific communities address their priority goals. Chapters 4, 6, and 8 discuss possible areas where nuclear power and propulsion systems may have an impact in solar and space physics, solar system exploration, and astronomy and astrophysics, respectively. Read the entire page →
From page 23... ... INTRODUCTION AND BACKGROUND 23 � The starting point for the scientific deliberations in this study are the goals, priorities, and recommendations in the NRC's decadal surveys for solar system exploration (SSE) , solar and space physics (SSP) Read the entire page →
From page 24... ... 17. National Research Council, The Sun to the Earth -- and Beyond: A Decadal Research Strategy in Solar and Space Physics, The National Academies Press, Washington, D.C., 2003, pp. Read the entire page →

From page 9...

... INTRODUCTION AND BACKGROUND 9 1 Introduction and Background Two of the most constrained resources on all spacecraft are propulsion power and electrical power. Chemical systems have been used to propel spacecraft since the dawn of the Space Age.

1 Introduction and Background Pages 9-24

1 Introduction and Background
Pages 9-24