Part 5 of 12 Parts
Sixteen research projects drawn from NASA, the space industry and academia will receive grants from the NASA Innovative Advanced Concepts (NIAC) program in order to study the feasibility of their concepts. Here are more of the projects:
7. Extrasolar Object Interceptor and Sample Return Enabled by Compact, Ultra Power Dense Radioisotope Batteries
Christopher Morrison,
Ultra Safe Nuclear Corporation (USNC-Tech) in Seattle
USNC-Tech is proposing that it investigate the creation of a compact twenty kilowatt eleven-hundred-pound, radioisotope-electric-propulsion spacecraft design. Their spacecraft will be powered by a novel Chargeable Atomic Battery (CAB) that is capable of changes in velocity on the order of eleven to eighteen pounds per kilowatt. A spacecraft using this technology will be able to catch up to an extrasolar object, collect samples and then return to -Earth. This will be accomplished in a ten-year mission. The data than may be collected from samples and from interstellar objects has the potential to fundamentally alter our understanding of the universe.
Two such objects from outside our solar system have passed through during the past three years. The USNC-Tech team wants to be ready for the next extrasolar object. The core innovation of this new spacecraft that will make such an amazing mission possible is the CAB. It has a power density of over thirty times the power density of plutonium-238. The CAB is easier and cheaper to manufacture than a radioisotope battery based on plutonium-238. In order to increase the safety of the CAB, the radioactive materials are encased in a robust matrix of carbide. This technology is greatly superior to nuclear fission systems for this application because fission systems require a critical mass where radioisotope systems can be much smaller and fit on smaller launch systems. This significantly reduces cost and complexity.
8. Atomic Planar Power for Lightweight Exploration (APPLE)
E. Joseph Nemanick
The Aerospace Corporation
The Atomic Planar Power for Lightweight Exploration (APPLE) is a technology intended for use on deep solar mission on low mass, fast transit space platforms. The Aerospace Corporation (AC) is going to explore an alternative vehicle architecture that integrates a long-lived, peak power capable, rechargeable, and modular power system with solar sail propulsion. They will also investigate possible new missions that this technology will enable. New solar sail capability allows rapid missions to the far realms of the Solar System. Such a spacecraft could reach Jupiter in six months, Saturn in less than a year, Pluto in four years, etc. While the solar sail propulsion system is the key to fast transit, the mission is made possible by the new power system.
APPLE contains a durable radiation-harden battery that is combined with a radioisotope electric power system. It is packaged in a planar form factor to power a solar sail vehicle. It is powered by a layered structure of radioisotope materials that is backed by layers of solid-state, radiation-hardened battery and thermal-to-electrical conversion technology. Laboratory analysis indicated that relacing the existing Juno power system and propulsion with APPLE would reduce to power system mass by over eighty percent and reduce the transit time by ninety percent.
The new radiation-hard battery is being developed by a collaboration between Oak Ridge National Laboratory and the Aerospace Corporation. The power system employs the radiation-hard battery to allow close contact with the radioisotope source for waste heat utilization. This does not impact electrical conversion efficiency. The large solar sail area is used to efficiently dissipate heat.
Using thermal, Monte Carlo modeling with CAD, coupled with space power simulations, the AC team will demonstrate the feasibility of the APPLE concept. The team will then apply the APPLE concept to possible missions such as sending a probe to Pluto in order to investigate mission advantages over traditional deep space mission approaches such as New Horizon. The rapid transit times allowed by solar sail propulsion which are enabled by APPLE will permit many significant new deep space missions for scientific investigations.