New nuclear-thermal electric engine will speed up space travel

by time news

NASA has given the go-ahead to develop the first stage of a new engine that uses dual thermal and electric propulsion to launch astronauts at high speeds in large spacecraft with minimal fuel consumption. If successful, the engine would allow interplanetary missions with very short travel times, avoiding the effects of radiation and lack of gravity on such long journeys.

Unlike new space engines that can get to Mars in a week, this new system will get there in 45 days. However, it is not limited to a mass of around a ton, like the first, forcing the technology to put research ships and rovers into orbit. NTP/NEP (Nuclear Thermal Propulsion/Nuclear Electric Propulsion) bimode engines could theoretically power large ships with human crews, with enough equipment and materials to establish temporary bases on the surface of Mars, as well as on moons and planets. Solar system. How does it work

As in previous years, NASA has selected the project for Phase 1 studies of its Advanced Technology Development Program.

Ryan Goss, an aerospace engineer at the University of Florida Gainesville who developed the engine, said that while NTP is considered the propulsion technology of choice for manned missions throughout the solar system, it does not have the power. to speed up short periods of time. Excellent quality. Placeholder Possible fusion ship.

Possible fusion ship. To solve this problem, Gosse developed a “new wave rotor covered cycle”, an engine that “does not use mechanical means to compress the fluid, but uses pressure waves generated in its channels”, whose geometry can be rectangular, trapezoidal or spiral. . According to Gosse, this approach allows for increased power and acceleration/deceleration. In conclusion, he said: “This double-ended design allows rapid transport of manned missions (a Nuclear propulsion is the key to conquering the solar system

This is not the first time the United States has toyed with the idea of ​​fusion propulsion in space. But this is the first time we see this combined technique. This means that the efforts of NASA, supported by the US Department of Energy and DARPA, the research arm of the Pentagon, are working, and engineers are getting creative in ways that were not possible just a few years ago. . After toying with the idea in the 1950s, NASA turned its attention back to nuclear-powered spacecraft. The agency has just launched the initial stages of a new nuclear weapons program, and the Russians and Chinese are moving forward with their plans. “NASA, in partnership with the Department of Energy (DOE), is leading efforts to develop nuclear technology in space,” the space agency said in a July 2021 statement.

These nuclear engines are just one of several international efforts to explore the use of alternative technologies, such as fusion or high-powered ion engines, in chemical rockets. At the same time, as seen in the videos along these lines, there is a path forward that could end up at relativistic speeds (i.e. traveling at a significant percentage of the speed of light) and traveling long distances even further. fast than light

These advanced engines defy the known laws of physics and could take us to other stars like Proxima Centauri in a matter of months. This is Dr. Harold “Sonny” White’s dream, a former engineer with NASA’s Eagleworks Advanced Propulsion Group (he is also the narrator of the video), has been fighting for it his entire life. According to White, and you can watch him explain it all in the session below, the only way to travel to other stars is to use engines with propulsion technologies that we currently can’t imagine because we don’t have the necessary knowledge. . NASA has given the go-ahead to develop the first stage of a new engine that uses dual thermal and electric propulsion to launch astronauts in large spacecraft at high speeds with minimal fuel consumption. If successful, the engine will be able to drastically reduce travel time and prevent interplanetary flight.

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