Advanced development and using of space nuclear power systems as a part of transport power supply modules for general purpose spacecraft

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Abstract
Nuclear transport power systems (NTPS) can provide solving such important science, commerce and defense tasks in space as radar surveillance, information affording, global ecological monitoring, defense of Earth from dangerous space objects, manufacturing in space, investigations of asteroids, comets and solar systems’ planets (Kuzin et al. 1993a, 1993b). The creation of NTPS for real space systems, however, must be based on proved NTPS effectiveness in comparison with other power and propulsion systems such as, nonnuclear electric‐rocket systems and so on. When the NTPS effectiveness is proved, the operation safety of such systems must be suited to the UN requirements for all stages of the life cycle in view of possible failures. A nuclear transport power module provides both a large amount of thermal and electrical power and a long acting time (about 6–7 years after completing the delivery task). For this reason such module is featured with the high power supplying‐mass delivery effectiveness and the considerable increasing of the total effectiveness of a spacecraft with the module. In the report, the such NTPS three types, namely the system on the base of thermionic reactor‐converter with electric rocket propulsion system (ERPS), the dual mode thermionic nuclear power system with pumping of working fluid through the active reactor zone, and the system on the base of the nuclear thermal rocket engine technology is compared with the transport power modules on the base of solar power system from the point of view of providing the highest degree of the effectiveness.

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