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tahanson43206

Moderator

Registered: 2018-04-27

Posts: 19,455

Re: Nuclear Ion Propulsion

This is a follow up to Post #24

Thanks for the three links ... The potassium concept seems to have been thoroughly explored.

I have yet to read the actual papers, but did review the summary text.

Related to the reactor selection is a question I'm posing about the ionization of material for the plasma engine ...

I had not realized that water self ionizes ...

Self-ionization of Water
Self-ionization of Water
The self-ionization of water (also autoionization of water, and autodissociation of water) is an ionization reaction in pure water or in an aqueous solution, in which a water molecule, H₂O, deprotonates (loses the nucleus of one of its hydrogen atoms) to become a hydroxide ion, OH⁻. The hydrogen nucleus, H⁺, immediately protonates another water molecule to form hydronium, H₃O⁺. It is an example of autoprotolysis, and exemplifies the amphoteric nature of water.

I'm not sure how useful this information is, but I'm assuming one conclusion might be that water can be ionized with less expenditure of energy than is required for disassociation or electrolysis.

The need is for the molecules to be accelerated to possess an electric charge.

Edit#1: To the overall topic ... is there any reason the UK could not be included in the candidate list for nations capable of building a space capable nuclear reactor?  I can't think of any, but there might be something that blocks progress there the way it seems to be doing in the US these days.

If not, then the way would seem clear to propose that the UK take the lead in developing this capability.  There isn't a lot of competition.

The competition will show up after someone takes the lead.

(th)

Mars_B4_Moon

Member

Registered: 2006-03-23

Posts: 9,776

Re: Nuclear Ion Propulsion

Scientists test ion thrusters powered by iodine  The fuel Iodine is Cheaper and it has lower ionization potential than Xenon.
https://www.cnet.com/news/in-a-space-fi … by-iodine/

They Ion Drive Engines can be Nuclear based but they also usually use solar power to electrically accelerate the ions of a propellant gas in order to move
The scarcity and expense of xenon has seen people look to other fuels. Also iodine is a solid at room temperature, so it doesn’t pose an explosion risk or need heavy high-pressure storage tanks like other fuel.

NASA seeks ideas for a nuclear reactor on the moon
https://abcnews.go.com/Technology/wireS … n-81282960

A space tug is a type of spacecraft used to transfer spaceborne cargo from one orbit to another orbit with different energy characteristics. An example would be moving a spacecraft from a low Earth orbit (LEO) to a higher-energy orbit like a geostationary transfer orbit, a lunar transfer, or an escape trajectory.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Space_tug

We also had discussion here on a Russian Nuke powered Space-Tug and a Nuclear Reactor that would deliver cargo to the Moon and Mars.

Last edited by Mars_B4_Moon (2021-11-20 06:00:08)

Calliban

Member

From: Northern England, UK

Registered: 2019-08-18

Posts: 3,799

Re: Nuclear Ion Propulsion

This link examines the benefits and disbenefits of different ion propulsion propellants.
https://beyondnerva.com/electric-propul … opellants/

Argon appears to be particularly promising for Earth-Mars interplanetary transit, due to its relative abundance in the Martian atmosphere.  Iodine should be available as a chemically bound salt in the Martian regolith.

---

"Plan and prepare for every possibility, and you will never act. It is nobler to have courage as we stumble into half the things we fear than to analyse every possible obstacle and begin nothing. Great things are achieved by embracing great dangers."

Mars_B4_Moon

Member

Registered: 2006-03-23

Posts: 9,776

Re: Nuclear Ion Propulsion

Roscosmos the Russian Space Agency said plans to launch a spacecraft utilizing nuclear-powered propulsion systems (which includes a small gas-cooled fission reactor with 1 MWe. China said it may soon want to Put Nuclear Reactors on the Moon, or perhaps help explore deep space the asteroids or planet Mars. The Chinese lunar nuclear reactor is described as being capable of generating a full megawatt of electricity, while we already know that Russia has talked of delivery of supplies using a Nuclear Space-Tug. The Japanese have used microwave electron cyclotron resonance to ionize the propellant, NASA had the High Power Electric Propulsion was a variation of ion thruster for use in nuclear electric propulsion applications it was tested and working and was intended for use on the Jupiter Icy Moons Orbiter but got cancelled during budget cuts. LISA pathfinder a mission used to test technology to be used for a cancelled LISA Gravity Waves mission also used an Ion Drive and so does the current Japanese European BepiColombo joint mission to Mercury. The PPS Hall-effect thruster, a kind of ion propulsion system for spacecraft, it was Solar powered and used in the European SMART-1 mission around the Moon.

In another idscussion on newmars it there was news that Full in-Orbit operation of a satellite powered by iodine gas has now been carried out sucessfully. If you are manufacturing spacecraft on other worlds, Mars, the Moon, Europa, Titan, Venus, one must also use available material and the Estimated Cost ($/kg)

Magnesium?
https://digitalcommons.mtu.edu/etds/903/
In this study, the use of magnesium as a Hall thruster propellant was evaluated. A xenon Hall thruster was modified such that magnesium propellant could be loaded into the anode and use waste heat from the thruster discharge to drive the propellant vaporization.

Why did NASA use Xenon in previous missions

'Ion Propulsion'
https://solarsystem.nasa.gov/missions/d … ropulsion/
Xenon was chosen because it is chemically inert, easily stored in a compact form, and the atoms are relatively heavy so they provide a relatively large thrust compared to other candidate propellants.

The JIMO mission that never was?

'Ion Propulsion: Farther, Faster, Cheaper'

A nuclear electric propulsion system (like that planned for the Jupiter Icy Moons Orbiter) uses a nuclear heat source coupled to an electric generator.
https://www.nasa.gov/centers/glenn/tech … sion1.html

The Dawn spacecraft by NASA broke the record of NASA's Deep Space 1, with a velocity change of 11.5 km/s (41,000 km/h), though it was only half as efficient

NASA launches DART probe to crash into an asteroid
https://bigthink.com/the-present/nasa-dart-probe/

NASA's asteroid-slamming mission will test new ion drive system
https://www.space.com/dart-mission-test … propulsion

Last edited by Mars_B4_Moon (2021-12-11 12:15:33)

Mars_B4_Moon

Member

Registered: 2006-03-23

Posts: 9,776

Re: Nuclear Ion Propulsion

WVU researchers explore alternative sources to help power space

https://www.spacedaily.com/reports/Fuel … e_999.html

Satellites and spacecraft are running on empty due to a worldwide shortage of traditional propulsion fuels. In response, two West Virginia University researchers are seeking alternative ways of powering the thrusters that keep satellites in orbit and could potentially drive deep space vessels.

Earl Scime, Oleg D. Jefimenko professor of physics and astronomy, and Thomas Steinberger, research assistant professor, both at the WVU Eberly College of Arts and Sciences, have been awarded a $748,000 grant from NASA's Established Program to Stimulate Competitive Research to explore propulsion systems that do not rely on traditional fuel sources.

EPSCoR encourages states like West Virginia to seek federal funding to develop infrastructure that makes them competitive for future funding. Scime said he and Steinberger are seizing this opportunity to lay groundwork for conducting plasma thruster experiments. Plasma thrusters are used to keep satellites in orbit in their correct path, make orbital changes and correct a spacecraft's attitude.

Years ago, spacecraft thrusters were powered by hydrazine, a toxic and flammable propellant source. Now, most are powered by a plasma thruster that uses xenon, an inert gas extracted from Earth's atmosphere.

"It's a costly process," Scime said. "It's usually done as a byproduct of steel manufacturing, and one of the largest distillation plants in the world for producing xenon is in Mariupol, Ukraine, which has been destroyed. A large fraction of the world's xenon supply has dried up and it's in very short supply."

An alternative to xenon is krypton, though it, too, is hard to come by, as it was also produced in Ukraine. In addition, a large fraction was bought on the open market by SpaceX for its Starlink satellites. As krypton has become scarce, Starlink has switched to argon.

"Dependence on rare noble gases for spacecraft propulsion has become a real problem," Scime said.

To that end, he and Steinberger have been studying iodine - which comes in solid form - as an alternative fuel..

"It has some huge advantages," Steinberger said. "You can pack it into a small volume in a spacecraft. You don't need high pressure tanks or gas handling. A few years ago, we took an interest in iodine, got some apparatus to make iodine plasmas from the U.S. Air Force and we developed a diagnostic to measure the flow of iodine ions. Now we're looking to the next step."

Scime's team has pioneered laser spectroscopy on iodine plasmas and developed the world's first way to measure the speed of ionized iodine out of a thruster.

"We proposed to NASA to test iodine-based thrusters here using our laser techniques, so that people can have a better way of characterizing iodine thrusters," he said.

Because iodine is messy and can cause respiratory problems in large test chambers, Scime and Steinberger are going to build a smaller, simpler chamber to develop and perfect ion thruster diagnostic technology that could then be ported to larger facilities.

While the team is in the early phases of the three-year project, they envision playing a role in developing ways to measure if a thruster is performing well.

"We're building iodine-based thrusters," Scime said. "So, in 20 years, we'd expect to see a lot of iodine propulsion systems on satellites, and maybe even on long duration missions to Mars. Hopefully we'll see these kinds of thrusters in widespread use. And we would be part of the process of making them work well."

No other group is conducting laser spectroscopy on ionized iodine, though many are pursuing research based on Scime and Steinberger's work.

Last edited by Mars_B4_Moon (2023-04-01 06:43:01)