152

PROPULSION SYSTEMS FOR SPACE FLIGHT

to be launched by a separate propulsion system like any passive satellite.

The recombination ram-jet principle, then, permits the design of satellites

or near-satellites operating near the altitude of 100 km, which will have

sustaining and possibly some maneuvering capabilities at the edge of the

earth's atmosphere.

In placing the recombination ram jet on a F/W-I,p performance chart

(Fig. 5-31), it is interesting to find that the effective specific impulse may

approach infinity. Since all of the propellant and energy is derived from

the environment, the ratio F/gorh may have a vanishing denominator.

The mass flow would be greater than zero only if an engine-cooling fluid

is used and ejected along with the matter ingested from the atmosphere.

The thrust-to-weight ratio of a realistically designed recombination ram

jet would probably be between 10-4 and 10-3.

NUCLEAR-FISSION ROCKETS

5-12. The Application of Nuclear Power to Rockets. The thermal

engines based on chemical fuels are ultimately limited by both the weak-

ness of the chemical bond and the high molecular weight of chemical

combustion products. See Eq. (5-5). By introducing nuclear power

into rocket propulsion, both limitations may be overcome. The high

energy densities of nuclear-heat sources are limited only by our ability

to remove the thermal energy that is generated. In addition, great

freedom in the choice of propellant is permitted since chemical combustion

is unnecessary. Both of these advantages combine to make nuclear-

fission rockets the prime contenders for the roles now played by the chemi-

cal rockets in space technology. The potentially large improvement in

rocket performance has stimulated energetic nuclear-rocket development

at Los Alamos Scientific Laboratory and the Rocketdyne Division of

North American Aviation as part of the joint Atomic Energy Commis-

sion-National Aeronautics and Space Administration ROVER Project.

The application of nuclear power to rockets is, in many ways, more

logical than its use in air-breathing engines for conventional aircraft.

There are three major problems that plague the designers of nuclear air-

craft. These largely disappear with the nuclear rocket.

1. High power-plant weights. A large portion of the weight in a

nuclear plane is devoted to personnel shielding. This weight is elimi-

nated in unmanned rockets and greatly reduced in manned systems

because of the use of shadow shielding.

2. Long-lived design under the influences of high temperature and

nuclear radiation. Because of the short operating life of the nuclear-

rocket engine, these constraints are relaxed.

3. Ground-handling problems. Since the nuclear rocket will generally

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THERMAL PROPULSION SYSTEMS

153

be used but once and is not radioactive before launching, ground handling

is considerably simplified in comparison with nuclear aircraft though

certainly not in comparison with chemical rockets.

Not only are the problems just mentioned greatly reduced in impor-

tance, but the many positive advantages of nuclear power, such as high

Heat transfer Consumable

nuclear rocket nuclear rocket

Fig. 5-14. Three types of nuclear propulsion systems. These are all thermal engines.

specific impulse and high energy density fuel, combine to make the

nuclear rocket a highly attractive space propulsion system.

There are three basic types of nuclear rockets. They may be classified

by the manner in which the nuclear reaction is contained (Table 5-1).

The so-called "heat-transfer nuclear rocket" is no more than a nuclear-

reactor core through which propellant is passed and heated. Figure 5-14

illustrates this type schematically. The second type is the consumable

nuclear rocket. Here the nuclear fissioning occurs directly in the working

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THERMAL PROPULSION SYSTEMS

155

in the fuel elements is transferred to the propellant by the conventional

heat-transfer mechanisms of conduction and convection.

During the firing of the rocket, turbopumps drive the propellant from

the tanks into the core header under high pressure. Pressures up to

100 atm and flows of 1,000 kg/sec are typical of many designs,(Ref. 5-11).

The heart of the heat-transfer nuclear rocket is the reactor itself. Figure

Fig. 5-16. Schematic of the nuclear-heat-transfer rocket engine. Heat is transferred

from the solid fuel elements to the working fluid through conduction, radiation, and

convection. Propellant turbopumps and piping for regeneratively cooled nozzle are

not shown. Shielding keeps propellant from overheating.

5-16 illustrates one possible arrangement. Propellant under high pres-

sure from the header enters the many coolant channels drilled in the core

matrix material. Heat produced by fission within the matrix is con-

ducted to the surface of the holes and then to the fluid itself by convection.

Somewhere along its passage through the core, perhaps even before it

leaves the top reflector piece, there will be a propellant phase change.

When this occurs, heat-transfer coefficients will also change markedly.

From this point on, the major problem in core design is the provision of

Propellant

Regenerative

cooling

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156

PROPULSION SYSTEMS FOR SPACE FLIGHT

the immense, extended heat-transfer areas needed to convey the heat

generated in the elements to the gas. Many thousands of square meters

of core area will be required in large rockets. The least blockage of

coolant flow will cause hot spots to develop with possible vaporization

of core material and the release of hazardous fission products to the

exhaust. The reactor core is a region of intense energy production, per-

haps 10,000 Mw/m3. It is ex-

ceedingly sensitive to the smallest

variations in the heat-transfer

process.

An alternate core configuration

also seems attractive. Instead of

massive blocks of core material

pierced with propellant channels,

myriads of tiny fuel elements may

be used with good effect. Figure

5-17 shows enlarged sketches of

both approaches. Note that the

temperatures peak to extreme

values in the heat-producing re-

gions. The core material may

soften or even melt and vaporize

in these regions. In both con-

figurations, the core pieces or

elements are supported by solid

stringers and support plates.

Since little heat is generated in-

ternally in these unfueled parts,

they have more structural strength than the fueled regions. All struc-

tural loads are ultimately carried to the chamber or pressure-shell wall.

The pressure drop across the core is so high (tens of atmospheres) that

high loadings occur at localized parts of the pressure shell.

Examining the reactor from the standpoint of nuclear physics, the core

is a source of high-energy neutrons, a certain fraction of which must be

retained within the core to sustain the chain reaction. In the reactor

shown in Fig. 5-16, the core is shown surrounded by a neutron reflector.

The addition of a fraction of a meter of reflector material will substantially

reduce the core dimensions and critical masses by reflecting escaping

neutrons back into the core. In the nuclear rocket, the reflector might

be cooled by a propellant flow path in series with the core. The heat

generated in the reflector by gamma-ray absorption and neutron slowing

down would have to be removed to preclude overtemperaturing.

The materials applicable to nuclear-rocket cores are the ceramics and

Propellant flow

yt

Temperature

-Grophite-U235

Matrix

Coolant channel

Propellant flow

Fuel pin

Coolant interstices

'Wire spacer

Fig. 5-17. Detailed views of two possible

types of core structure applicable to the

nuclear-heat-transfer rocket.

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THERMAL PROPULSION SYSTEMS

157

refractory metals. They are used for their high-temperature properties

in spite of their usual brittleness and sensitivity to thermal shock. It is

extremely difficult to make fuel elements with adequate surface-to-volume

ratios which will also withstand the high thermal and mechanical stresses

produced during the firing of the rocket. The fuel, in the form of UO2

or UC, may be dispersed through the matrix materials or possibly loaded

as ceramic pellets. Since many of the ceramics are also good moderating

and reflecting materials, the core structure, fuel matrix, and reflector may

all be made from the same basic material. Such reactors would probably

be slow or epithermal because of the good moderating properties of

the materials. On the other hand, if a refractory metal like tungsten is

employed, a reactor with a fast neutron spectrum should be designed

because of the high absorption cross section of tungsten for slow neutrons.

The three materials just mentioned, BeO, W, and graphite, are all highly

important to nuclear-rocket technology. The properties of these mate-

rials are summarized in Table 5-3. As might be expected, the best devel-

oped material BeO is the least interesting from a performance point of

view because of its poor properties at very high temperatures. The true

significance of materials technology to nuclear-rocket performance can be

seen by comparing the temperatures shown in Table 5-3 with the specific

impulses obtainable with various propellants in Table 5-4.

Reactor control can be achieved through the use of axial control rods

containing a neutron poison like boron carbide. The axial control rods

shown in Fig. 5-16 are common in most nuclear reactors. Upon start-up,

Table 5-3. Properities of Some Nuclear Rocket Core Materials*

Property

BeO

Graphite

Melting point

2800K

3900K, sublimes

3650K

Density at 20C

2.7

1.7

19.1

Short-time tensile

strength, psi

1,000-4,000, at

3,000-6,000, at

5,000-9,000, at

Macroscopic thermal

1500K

2780K

2780K

absorption cross

section, cm-1

0.0006

0.00037

1.17

Probable rocket ef-

flux temperature in

1970

1700K

2300K

2300K

Comments

Comparatively well

Properties are ani-

Difficult to fabri-

developed. Can

sotropic. Easily

cate. Expensive

be hot-pressed

worked

into almost any

shape

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158

PROPULSION SYSTEMS FOR SPACE FLIGHT

the rods would be withdrawn allowing the reactor power to build up at a

rate consistent with the thermal stress and shock limitations of the core

materials. Of course, propellant flow past the fuel-bearing regions must

be programed along with the reactor power changes. The start-up pro-

cedure may take as long as several minutes if damage to the core is to be

avoided. This single fact constitutes one of the major problems of the

heat-transfer nuclear rocket. Ready-to-go capability is limited, and pro-

pellant must be provided from an auxiliary supply to remove heat while

the power is being brought up to the design level. Difficulties are also

encountered during reactor shutdown because coolant must be directed

through the core even after the chain reaction has ceased. Unless this

afterheat, a result of radioisotope decay, is removed, the rocket reactor

will be destroyed and reuse will be impossible.

Table 5-4. Specific Impulses of Nuclear Rockets*

Propellant

Sea-level thrust chamber specific

impulse at the indicated gas

temperature for 43 atm

1650K

3300K

4950K

Hydrogen

627 sec

890 sec

1216 sec

Helium

395

540

653

Ammonia

307

431

577

Water

222

* Ref. 5-11.

Most nuclear rockets will be unmanned, at least during the first years

of their use. For this reason, shielding will be a minor problem. Only

a few radiation-sensitive components, like transistorized electronic equip-

ment, will have to be protected from the intense burst of radiation occur-

ring during the short operating lifetime of the reactor. It is also essential

to place some shielding between the reactor and the propellant tank to

prevent excessive heating of the propellant by the absorption of nuclear

radiation. Small temperature rises in the cryogenic propellant can cause

severe cavitation problems in the propellant turbopump. For the even-

tual nuclear rockets with a human cargo, enough shielding must be placed

between the reactor and the crew compartment to bring the total dose

integrated over the mission down to perhaps 10 rem. The crew must

also be protected from the neutrons and gamma rays that may be scat-

tered into their compartment from the atmosphere. Scattering will be

important only during the initial flight phase. It may be that the shield-

ing necessary for human passage through the radiation belt surrounding

the earth will be adequate for air-scattered reactor-produced radiation.

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