| Values in italics are calculated, other cells suitable for direct entry of values | |||||||||||||
| Unmanned NEP moonbase delivery vehicle | |||||||||||||
| Assuming SDV lift capability of 80t to LEO: | |||||||||||||
| First launch - entire vehicle (80t) apart from payload, propellant and prop. tank. Optionally, uranium may be launched separately. | |||||||||||||
| Second launch - 80t payload module, this mass includes engines and propellant for lunar landers etc. No maneuvering capability. | |||||||||||||
| Third launch - propellant module consisting of 64t xenon propellant, 7t tank, 9t temporary hardware and rendezvous propellant *(see bottom) | |||||||||||||
| used to dock with payload module, then tug it to the main vehicle (this hardware is discarded after docking) | |||||||||||||
| Configuration is [Engines/main vehicle]-[Propellant module]-[Payload module] | |||||||||||||
| so the propellant provides some shielding for the payload to avoid scrambling chips etc. Reactor still needs some shielding to | |||||||||||||
| prevent the propellant module becoming radioactive by neutron activation, since the propellant module will re-enter. | |||||||||||||
| Trip: 3 to 4 months spiralling out (then in to lunar orbit), detach payload module, 2 to 3 months return to a 650km circular Earth orbit. | |||||||||||||
| Empty propellant module is then discarded and allowed to re-enter. | |||||||||||||
| 650km orbit is chosen so that in case the ion drives cannot be restarted for whatever reason, the orbit doesn't decay quickly and drop a nuke in our laps: | |||||||||||||
| we have several years to fix it or boost the vehicle to a high graveyard orbit or escape. Easiest (but expensive) way to do this would be to attach | |||||||||||||
| another identical vehicle to it, along with a propellant module, then just lift it to escape velocity. | |||||||||||||
| Repeat 2nd and 3rd launches for lifetime of vehicle, perhaps 10-20 cycles. | |||||||||||||
| Probably would use two or three of these vehicles simultaneously, requiring 5 to 7 launches a year for a delivery rate of 200 to 300t/year to lunar orbit. | |||||||||||||
| Reactor core lasts for lifetime of the engines without needing to be refueled. Refueling would be a big hassle (because of difficulty to shield from the really-hot old core) | |||||||||||||
| so on the last run, instead of returning to LEO the engine is used to enter a heliocentric orbit that does not intersect the Earth's. | |||||||||||||
| Power | |||||||||||||
| Drive | 1800 | kW | three sets of 600kW propulsion system | ||||||||||
| Other | 100 | kW | |||||||||||
| Total | 1900 | kW | |||||||||||
| generator efficiency (heat->electricity) | 15 | % | |||||||||||
| This is probably roughly right for a first-generation spaceborne reactor, no big deal if the efficiency is a bit less - just use a few more kg fuel | |||||||||||||
| Thrust | 90 | N | three sets of 600kW propulsion system | ||||||||||
| Mass | Structure/systems | 20 | t | <--} | |||||||||
| Engines/reactor | 60 | t | <--}- are these numbers sane? | ||||||||||
| Prop. Tank (empty) | 7 | t | <--} | ||||||||||
| Payload | 80 | t | |||||||||||
| Uranium | 100 | kg | elec. energy | 15000 | MWd | (1 gram produces approx 1MWd thermal) | |||||||
| Total dry | 167.1 | t | |||||||||||
| Propellant | 64 | t | <--xenon | ||||||||||
| Total | 231.1 | t | |||||||||||
| Mass fraction | 1.4 | ||||||||||||
| Isp | 2200 | seconds | <-- realistic? | ||||||||||
| dV | |||||||||||||
| To lunar orbit | Return to LEO | Total over whole trip | |||||||||||
| dV required | 4500 | m/s | 4500 | m/s | 9000 | m/s | |||||||
| apollo used about 4050 but some extra required due to spiral trajectory? | |||||||||||||
| Initial mass | 231.1 | t | 107.6 | t | 231.1 | t | |||||||
| Final mass | 187.6 | t | 87.3 | t | 87.3 | t | |||||||
| Propellant used | 43.5 | t | 20.3 | t | 63.8 | t | |||||||
| Propellant remaining | 20.5 | t | 0.20 | t | 0.20 | t | |||||||
| Initial acc | 3.89E-04 | ms^-2 | 8.37E-04 | ms^-2 | |||||||||
| Final acc | 4.80E-04 | ms^-2 | 1.03E-03 | ms^-2 | |||||||||
| Burn duration | 119.8 | d | 55.8 | d | 175.6 | d | |||||||
| Coast time | 70 | d | 40 | d | 110 | d | |||||||
| really not sure about coast times | |||||||||||||
| Total time | 189.8 | d | 95.8 | d | 285.6 | d | |||||||
| 6.2 | months | 3.2 | months | 9.4 | months | ||||||||
| Prop. Flow rate | 4.2 | g/sec | |||||||||||
| Energy req'd | 360.7 | MWd | |||||||||||
| Trips on one uranium load | 41.6 | ||||||||||||
| Delivery rate to lunar orbit, per vehicle | |||||||||||||
| 102.3 | tonnes per year | ||||||||||||
| * Rendezvous propellant calculations: | |||||||||||||
| The SDV must be able to lift 80 tonnes to a 500km orbit. The main vehicle is initally launched from this altitude, but | |||||||||||||
| returns to a higher 650km circular orbit for safety reasons (orbit has a long decay time). | |||||||||||||
| The payload module and propellant module are lifted to coplanar 500km orbits by the SDV. | |||||||||||||
| The propellant module is active; it must rendezvous with the payload module, dock, then lift both to the 650km orbit | |||||||||||||
| for rendezvous and docking with the main vehicle. For this it uses conventional propellant. | |||||||||||||
| Propellant module mass | 80 | t | |||||||||||
| Payload module mass | 80 | t | |||||||||||
| Isp | 320 | seconds | |||||||||||
| dV | Payload module rndvz. | 40 | m/s | (no significant overall change in altitude or plane change) | |||||||||
| (including docking) | |||||||||||||
| mass after procedure | 158.99 | t | |||||||||||
| Lift from 500km circ. orbit | 85 | m/s | |||||||||||
| to 650km circ. orbit | |||||||||||||
| mass after procedure | 154.73 | t | |||||||||||
| Main vehicle rndvz. | 40 | m/s | |||||||||||
| (including docking) | |||||||||||||
| mass after procedure | 152.77 | t | |||||||||||
| Total propellant req'd | 7.23 | t | |||||||||||
| Thrusters, nav. | |||||||||||||
| computer etc (disposable) | 1.5 | t | |||||||||||
| Total | 8.73 | t | |||||||||||