This is over twice the mass of the Dragonfly mission, which is (relatively speaking) a featherweight by comparison-450 kg (990 lbs). In a previous study, an international research team proposed how a spacecraft equipped with a 2-megawatt (MW) DFD could transport a 1000 kg (2200 lbs) payload to Titan in less than 2.6 years (~31 months). In contrast to these traditional nuclear engines, the direct fusion drive (DFD) calls for a nuclear-fusion rocket engine that would produce both thrust and electric power for an interplanetary spacecraft. The latter involves a reactor providing electricity to a Hall-Effect thruster or ion engine that relies on electromagnetic fields to ionize an inert gas (like xenon) that is directed through nozzles for thrust. The former relies on a reactor to heat deuterium (2H) and liquid oxygen (LOX) propellant, which is then directed through nozzles to generate thrust. Between 19, their efforts led to the Nuclear Engine for Rocket Vehicle Application (NERVA), a solid-core reactor that relies on the slow-decay of highly-enriched uranium (235U) to power a nuclear-thermal propulsion (NTP) or nuclear-electric propulsion (NEP) system. The concept of nuclear propulsion goes back to the early Space Age when NASA and the Soviet space program sought to develop reactors to power future missions beyond the Earth-moon system. Their mission study, "Nuclear fusion powered Titan aircraft," recently appeared in Acta Astronautica.
He was joined by multiple colleagues from PSS, the Princeton Plasma Physics Laboratory (PPPL), the Air Force Institute of Technology at Wright-Patterson AFB, and Princeton and Stanford University. The research team was led by Michael Paluszek, the president of Princeton Satellite Systems (PSS) and an aeronautic and astronautical engineer with a long history of experience in space systems and the commercial space industry. This research could lead to compact fusion reactors that could lead to rapid transits, longer-duration missions, and miniature nuclear reactors here on Earth. This New Jersey-based aerospace company is developing fusion systems that rely on the Princeton Field-Reversed Configuration (PFRC).
#WHEN A DRAGONFLY VISITS YOU GENERATOR#
The robotic explorer will rely on a nuclear battery-a Multi-Mission Radioisotope Thermal Generator (MMRTG)-to ensure its longevity.īut what if Dragonfly were equipped with a next-generation fusion power system? In a recent mission study paper, a team of researchers from Princeton Satellite Systems demonstrated how a direct fusion drive (DFD) could greatly enhance a mission to Titan. This will commence in 2034, with a science phase lasting for three years and three and a half months.
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