VISTA -- A Vehicle for Interplanetary Space Transport Application Powered by Inertial Confinement Fusion
VISTA -- A Vehicle for Interplanetary Space Transport Application Powered by Inertial Confinement Fusion
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VISTA——一种由惯性约束聚变驱动的星际空间运输应用车辆
DOI：
10.2172/15015945
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发表时间：
2005
影响因子：
2.5
通讯作者：
C. Orth
中科院分区：
文献类型：
--
作者：
C. Orth
惯性约束聚变（ICF）是一种理想的技术，用于为太阳系内的自给式单级有人驾驶（载人）航天器提供动力，因为其固有的高功率/质量比和高比冲（即，较高排气速度）。当ICF与磁推力室一起使用时，这些技术优势得以保留，从而避免了使用机械推力室不可避免的等离子体热化和由此产生的比冲下降。我们从Rod Hyde在1983年描述的使用磁推力室的ICF动力发动机概念开始，并进行了更详细的系统研究，以开发一种可行的、现实的和可防御的基于ICF技术的航天器概念，该概念预计将在世纪上半叶推出。其结果包括一个全新的锥形航天器概念设计，利用近现有的散热器技术。我们描述了这个新概念的各种车辆系统，估计任务的一般任务的太阳系内的行星的性能能力，并详细描述了性能的基线使命的载人往返火星与100吨的有效载荷。对于这个使命，我们表明，往返共计{ge}145天是可能的先进DT融合技术和总（湿）航天器质量约6000公吨。这种短期飞行任务有利于最大限度地减少已知的宇宙辐射对宇航员的危害，甚至更重要的是，可以最大限度地减少失重引起的生理恶化。这些ICF动力飞行任务比使用化学或核电推进技术的最小质量飞行器配置的飞行任务快得多。VISTA还提供机载人工重力和基于推进剂的宇宙射线屏蔽，从而将已知的危险和生理恶化降低到微不足道的水平。然而，我们强调，ICF驱动的飞行器能够在多大程度上胜过使用任何其他现实技术的飞行器取决于陆基ICF研究能够在多大程度上从ICF目标中获得必要的能量增益。随着这种陆地研究的积极进展，VISTA将能够在7年内完成冥王星的往返任务，并在人类一生中完成太阳系以外的任务。
Inertial Confinement Fusion (ICF) is an ideal technology to power self-contained single-stage piloted (manned) spacecraft within the solar system because of its inherently high power/mass ratios and high specific impulses (i.e., high exhaust velocities). These technological advantages are retained when ICF is utilized with a magnetic thrust chamber, which avoids the plasma thermalization and resultant degradation of specific impulse that are unavoidable with the use of mechanical thrust chambers. We started with Rod Hyde's 1983 description of an ICF-powered engine concept using a magnetic thrust chamber, and conducted a more detailed systems study to develop a viable, realistic, and defensible spacecraft concept based on ICF technology projected to be available in the first half of the 21st century. The results include an entirely new conical spacecraft conceptual design utilizing near-existing radiator technology. We describe the various vehicle systems for this new concept, estimate the missions performance capabilities for general missions to the planets within the solar system, and describe in detail the performance for the baseline mission of a piloted roundtrip to Mars with a 100-ton payload. For this mission, we show that roundtrips totaling {ge}145 days are possible with advanced DT fusion technology and a total (wet) spacecraft mass of about 6000 metric tons. Such short-duration missions are advantageous to minimize the known cosmic-radiation hazards to astronauts, and are even more important to minimize the physiological deteriorations arising from zero gravity. These ICF-powered missions are considerably faster than those available using chemical or nuclear-electric-propulsion technologies with minimum-mass vehicle configurations. VISTA also offers onboard artificial gravity and propellant-based shielding from cosmic rays, thus reducing the known hazards and physiological deteriorations to insignificant levels. We emphasize, however, that the degree to which an ICF-powered vehicle can outperform a vehicle using any other realistic technology depends on the degree to which terrestrial-based ICF research can develop the necessary energy gain from ICF targets. With aggressive progress in such terrestrial research, VISTA will be able to make roundtrip missions to Pluto in {approx}7 years, and missions to points just beyond the solar system within a human lifetime.