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tahanson43206

Moderator

Registered: 2018-04-27

Posts: 19,383

Nuclear Fusion in Orbit or Deep Space High Vacuum

For SpaceNut ... there were 16 topics with the word "fusion" .... I looked at all of them carefully, but none seemed a good fit for this new topic

The origin of the topic is a Science Fact article by Donald Wilkins in the September/October 2021 issue of Analog Science Fiction & Fact.

"Orbital Nuclear Power System (ONPS): The Foundation of an Interplanetary Civilization"

I've been following announcements about fusion for a while, and nothing quite like this has shown up.

This is a solid piece, supported by 12 hefty references.

The author considers solar power satellites, and offers fusion power satellites in low Earth orbit as an alternative.

Among aspects of the article that I find intriguing is the remarkable similarity to a discussion that took place (relatively) recently, regarding deployment of solar power satellites in a set of carefully crafted polar orbits that always maintain the same view of the Sun in the dawn/dusk band, while precessing at exactly the right rate to maintain that view.  That discussion included details about how power would be beamed to Earth stations.

The author of the article (Wilkins) considers the same issues, but is not limited to the dawn/dusk band because the proposed satellites are NOT dependent upon the Sun do deliver power to the Earth.

The author proposes 140,000 fusion power satellites to meet Earth requirements. 

The aspect of the article that is ** new ** (to me for sure) is the idea of deploying fusion reactors in space to take advantage of hard vacuum.

This idea need NOT be limited to supply of power to the Earth, attractive as that idea may be to some.

There is NO reason that I can think of at the moment why a reactor that works in hard vacuum in space could not (and would not) become the main power source for all manner of vessels in Space, as well as habitats on the Moon of Earth and other similar high vacuum environments.

There are many Donald Wikins in the first order Google result set. 

I asked Google for any connections to Analog, and one showed up ... a letter to the editor in 1987 from Florisant, Missouri.

The middle name for the author ** may ** be Frank.

The topic headers include:

Terrestrial Needs
Orbital Solar Power System (OSPS) (review of solar power concepts)
Orbital Nuclear Power System
Fusion Reactor Design
Terrestrial Fusion Reactor Issues
Fusion in Orbit
Beaming Energy
Risks
Conclusion

In preparing these notes, I realized that the proposed system would work well on a moon such as Phobos, to power many of the concepts discussed in this forum over time, including making fuel and oxidizer for chemically powered vehicles using scooped Martian atmosphere.

Analogsf.com does ** not ** currently offer a single issue retail purchase service.

However, Amazon offers Kindle versions of the magazine for $2.99 per month, with the option to cancel at any time.

I suppose that might be viewed as a single issue option, but it is not ideal. 

However, a curious wrinkle is that the first issue is offered for free, so I suppose you could download an issue and then cancel.

Many libraries carry Analog.

(th)

tahanson43206

Moderator

Registered: 2018-04-27

Posts: 19,383

Re: Nuclear Fusion in Orbit or Deep Space High Vacuum

This post is about the September/October 2021 issue of Analog ...

I'm encouraged to see the following item in the Table of Contents ...

Orbital Nuclear Power system (ONPS): the foundation of an Interplanetary Civilization, Donald Wilkins.

If anyone either inside or outside the NewMars community would like to see the article, the magazine should be arriving at your local library soon.

There are 12 references:
1 Hoffert
2 Mankins
3 Gdoutos
4 Links to what appear to be free resources
5 Criswell
6 Criswell
7 Criswell
8 Cook
9 Strozier
10 free resource on fusion
11 Almoneef
12 Lancashire

(th)

tahanson43206

Moderator

Registered: 2018-04-27

Posts: 19,383

Re: Nuclear Fusion in Orbit or Deep Space High Vacuum

This post is specifically for Calliban ....

In your (very recent) post in Book Beyond Oil topic, you provided additional support for the (to me logical) premise that atomic power is both necessary and desirable for human expansion beyond Earth, let alone survival ** on ** Earth.

I would like to call the work of Wilkins, cited in this topic, to your attention.

There is much in the citation that is worth contemplation, but I have opened this topic to seek focus upon a very specific idea, buried amidst the text ...

That is the proposition that nuclear fusion is almost ** ideal ** to be carried out in space.  The author provides a number of reasons why that would be the case, and I have asked analogsf.com to make individual copies of the latest issue available for sale from their web site.

However, while we (forum members and readers) wait for ** that ** unlikely development, we ** can ** seek the current issue at our local libraries.

While not all libraries carry the magazine, many do, so I invite readers to check to see if the current issue is available locally.

The specific issue under discussion is the one for September/October 2021.

However, we do not need Mr. Wilkins to provide details to expand and develop the basic idea.

This forum already has members who can (and hopefully **will**) develop the idea.  My philosophy is that if the time for an idea has come, then it will grow  and develop easily and without resistance in a prepared mental landscape.  This forum certainly ** should ** be such a landscape.

(th)

tahanson43206

Moderator

Registered: 2018-04-27

Posts: 19,383

Re: Nuclear Fusion in Orbit or Deep Space High Vacuum

For those who are not yet members of this forum, but who consider this topic to be worth your investment of time and energy, please read Post #2 of Recruiting.

Admission to the forum is via a process similar to Human Resources in any commercial or non-profit organization.  The first stage of admission is pretty easy going.  If you pass that (and several have) then you will be invited to show how you (very specifically) can assist a (very specific) project.

We (current forum) have a set of members who have passed muster over an extended period of time.  These members are (potentially) available to provide support for contributions as they come in, if they are so inspired.

I would like to see ** this ** topic develop from the idea proposed by Mr. Wilkins to one or more actual initiatives (commercial or governmental) to launch components of a space based fusion power system.

The current and expected success of SpaceX suggests the parameters for launch of components of such a system.  It appears that 100 metric tons to LEO is feasible, and the dimensions of a Starship would appear to be sufficient to accommodate significant parts of a fusion-in-space system.

Mr. Wilkins spends a fair amount of time thinking/writing about delivery of power back to Earth.  I am sure there are Earth citizens who will want to explore that idea further.  I am ** not ** interested in that idea at all.  Instead, I'm interested in the potential of the kind of space resident fusion reactor proposed by Mr. Wilkins for use in vessels such as RobertDyck's Large Ship, or many other classes of orbiting or traveling vessels.

As pointed out earlier (somewhere in this forum) such a power system would serve admirably on any body with exposure to vacuum.

The Earth Moon, Phobos at Mars, or many other similar large airless bodies are candidates to enjoy the benefits of abundant energy supplied by such a reactor.

In the proposal of Wilkins, Deuterium and Tritium (made from Lithium) are the ingredients of interest. 

It seems likely (to me at least) that other proposals for fuel will become attractive over time.

For the purposes of ** this ** topic, I would like to see specifications for magnets and electronics capable of supporting a self-sustaining fusion reaction in a high-vacuum environment.

(th)

Mars_B4_Moon

Member

Registered: 2006-03-23

Posts: 9,776

Re: Nuclear Fusion in Orbit or Deep Space High Vacuum

Commonwealth Fusion breaks the magnetic field strength record by creating a 20-tesla magnetic field, almost twice as strong as ITER's at 13 tesla. Achieving a high magnetic field strength is a key step toward developing a sustained fusion reactor to give us unlimited clean energy.

https://year2049.substack.com/p/fusion-power-?s=w

another interesting discussion
'NASA funds Direct Drive Fusion Propulsion'
https://newmars.com/forums/viewtopic.php?id=7415

Last edited by Mars_B4_Moon (2022-04-20 06:07:41)