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Nuclear electric propulsion : assessing the design of Project Prometheus.

Author(s)
Goycoolea, Martin
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Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Department of Nuclear Science and Engineering.
Advisor
Dennis Whyte.
Terms of use
M.I.T. theses are protected by copyright. They may be viewed from this source for any purpose, but reproduction or distribution in any format is prohibited without written permission. See provided URL for inquiries about permission. http://dspace.mit.edu/handle/1721.1/7582
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Abstract
The high fuel efficiency of electric propulsion makes it a viable alternative for long-distance space travel. Project Prometheus was a NASA-led project that sought to demonstrate that distant electric propulsion missions were achievable by planning an expedition to characterize the Jovian moons of Jupiter. Several requirements were estimated for the electric propulsion system to allow this mission to happen under the budget and technological constraints of the time. Although the mission was terminated early in 2005, many of the design choices during Project Prometheus have affected future long-distance electric propulsion missions. In this thesis the design choices in response to the given constraints in the electric propulsion system are analyzed and evaluated. More specifically, the areas explored include the restriction in the the amount of propellant mass, the choice of propellant used, the specific impulse and power of the thrusters, and the lifetime of the thrusters.
Description
Thesis (S.B.)--Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Dept. of Nuclear Science and Engineering, 2013.
 
"Author: Martin Goycoolea"--title-page. "June 2013." Cataloged from PDF version of thesis.
 
Includes bibliographical references (page 26).
 
Date issued
2013
URI
http://hdl.handle.net/1721.1/82444
Department
Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Department of Nuclear Science and Engineering
Publisher
Massachusetts Institute of Technology
Keywords
Nuclear Science and Engineering.

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