2 research outputs found
Ground Testing a Nuclear Thermal Rocket: Design of a Sub-scale Demonstration Experiment
In 2008, the NASA Mars Architecture Team found that the Nuclear Thermal Rocket (NTR) was the preferred propulsion system out of all the combinations of chemical propulsion, solar electric, nuclear electric, aerobrake, and NTR studied. Recently, the National Research Council committee reviewing the NASA Technology Roadmaps recommended the NTR as one of the top 16 technologies that should be pursued by NASA. One of the main issues with developing a NTR for future missions is the ability to economically test the full system on the ground. In the late 1990s, the Sub-surface Active Filtering of Exhaust (SAFE) concept was first proposed by Howe as a method to test NTRs at full power and full duration. The concept relied on firing the NTR into one of the test holes at the Nevada Test Site which had been constructed to test nuclear weapons. In 2011, the cost of testing a NTR and the cost of performing a proof of concept experiment were evaluated
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Functional and operational requirements for TA-18 relocation to the NTS/DAF Site.
Technical Area 18 (TA-18), or Pajarito Site, of the Los Alamos National Laboratory has been operational as a nuclear facility since 1945. The original complement of a dozen part-time researchers with a single mission in one building at the end of a dirt road has evolved to a complex, multimission facility with a staff of 125 occupying 25 major buildings adjacent to a heavily traveled road with public access. In the year 2000, the Secretary of Energy determined that the mission of TA-18 was essential to support national security, but that consideration had to be given to improving safety and physical security. It is presently proposed to relocate most of the TA-18 operations to the Device Assembly Facility (DAF) at the Nevada Test Site (NTS). The purpose of this paper is to identify the functional and operational requirements and to demonstrate how they can be met at the DAF