Nuclear SSTO Diagram by wblack
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Description
Nuclear SSTO Diagram
This is an on-going series --previous posts are linked below.
The Nuclear SSTO is designed to function in support of the Mars Terraforming Program. Payloads would consist of impulse charge magazine stage modules and other components for all three types of Callisto operations spacecraft. The SSTO would also ferry mission crews from surface to orbit and return terraforming materials to the Martian surface.
In my Gas Core Nuclear Light Bulb engine Data I’ve gone with the figures given in the Drive Table (Under Gas Core MAX) on Winchell Chungs’s Atomic Rockets site, www.projectrho.com.
Link: Drive Table
I used the Gas Core Max numbers with the consideration that such technology would improve with application over time.
The vehicle has similar performance characteristics to Anthony Tates “Liberty Ship” – tweaked for operations within Mar’s gravational field.
Liberty Ship Links:
Link: Anthony Tate’s Liberty Ship
LinK: My Renderosity Liberty Ship Post
Mars Colony Terraforming Program Image Links:
Mars Colony: The Expanding Frontier
Discarding Stages
Discarding Stages: A New Perspective
Prospecting Callisto
Callisto Production Field
Flight Control Station
Command & Control Deck
Crew Quarters
Mars Colony Heavy Lift Nuclear SSTO
Mars Colony Nuclear SSTO Launch
Mars Colony Nuclear SSTO Approach to Touchdown
All models are my own, models constructed in Bryce 6.5 and rendered in Bryce 7 Pro.
As always thank you for your interest, thoughtful comments, and encouragement.
Comments (9)
geirla
Great diagram! I'm not sure I believe Winchell's exhaust velocity figure, though. If my math is right, it implies a propellant temperature of about 370,000 C (or K - close enough) which is more likely to occur in some sort of magnetically confined plasma or fusion rocket. Plus, I don't think anything near that is necessary to go SSTO from Mars. But what do I know, I'm a history major who uses Excel to design spaceships...
Hlynkacg
A little off-topic, but something I've been meaning to ask you is how you go about texturing your models and rendering such beautiful diagrams. I've finally gotten around to turning some of my "Spread-sheet Rockets" into 3D models but I'm no artist. Any advice or incite into your process would be greatly appreciated. http://www.orbiter-forum.com/album.php?albumid=544&pictureid=5092 http://www.orbiter-forum.com/picture.php?albumid=544&pictureid=5416 http://www.orbiter-forum.com/picture.php?albumid=544&pictureid=5093 (The Red space-plane is one of the stock models from 'Orbiter')
peedy
Fantastic moddeling and detail! Corrie
texboy
amazing work, bud.... makes my brain hurt! good stuff!
flavia49
wonderful model
thecytron
Very interesting detailed presentation!
wblack
Hello geirla, Your observation is correct – Winchell’s Drive Table gives the range from the “tried and tested” – to the extreme edge of the technologies described. He provides the MAX entries with the caveat: “All drives listed in the table whose names end in "MAX" require some sort of technological breakthrough to prevent the engine from vaporizing and/or absurdly large reaction chamber sizes.”“ The gas core rocket concept is itself on the theoretical edge – it starts with the premise that core operational temperature is beyond the melting point of its containment – the design depends on setting up layered flows of gas (envelope-confined thermal flow regions) with separate thermal values and temperature gradients. This is proposed to be accomplished by inducing standing-wave conditions within the gas flow. The fissioning core is contained within a stable vortex of cooler gas – keeping it away from the chamber walls. My thesis is (given that the problems can be surmounted) some application of this “envelope-confined thermal flow” approach might permit much higher reaction jet temperatures. Setting up such conditions and being able to rely on them with confidence would admittedly present a serious engineering challenge. Each return payload flight would deliver 30k tons of recovered raw materials to Mars orbit – and my design challenge was designing a means to de-orbit and soft land that amount of material. The nuclear SSTO I’ve envisioned is intended to soft land this returned material 2,500 tons (5 million pounds) – at a time, taking 12 orbit & return flights to fully unload each return mission transporter.
wblack
Hello Hlynkacg, I’d really like to see your designs, but the links you’ve provided give the message that I’m not authorized to access those pages -- perhaps if you uploaded them here on Renderosity – or send to my e-mail. I am preparing a description of my process and should have that ready to send off in a few days – I’ll send that to your personal e-mail.
WZRD
Outstanding sci-fi series - love your attention to detail but I'm surprised to see you using Imperial units of measurement rather than metric.