Thermonuclear Micro-Bomb Rocket Propulsion

Abstract

The report describes an advanced nuclear rocket propulsion system based on a chain of exploding thermonuclear micro-bombs ignited in front of a concave magnetic reflector open at one side. It is shown that for such a propulsion system to work with ideally high efficiency the following conditions have to be satisfied: the thermonuclear material for the micro-bombs has to be a stoichiometric mixture of He3 and D in solid or liquid form, and the ignition of the micro-bombs has to be accomplished by an intense relativistic electron beam.

Open PDF

Document Details

Document Type
Technical Report
Publication Date
Feb 01, 1972
Accession Number
AD0746027

Entities

People

  • F. Winterberg

Organizations

  • University of Nevada, Las Vegas

Tags

Communities of Interest

  • Air Platforms
  • Energy and Power Technologies
  • Weapons Technologies

DTIC Thesaurus Topics

  • Electric Fields
  • Electrical Conductivity
  • Electromagnetic Fields
  • Electron Beams
  • Electrons
  • Energy Storage
  • Explosives
  • Fission
  • Ignition
  • Laser Beams
  • Laser Ignition Systems
  • Magnetic Fields
  • Nuclear Reactors
  • Propulsion Systems
  • Rocket Engines
  • Rocket Propulsion
  • Thermonuclear Reactions

Fields of Study

  • Physics

Readers

  • Plasma Physics / Magnetohydrodynamics
  • Rocket Propulsion.
  • Underwater engineering and Marine Technology.

Technology Areas

  • Directed Energy
  • Microelectronics
  • Microelectronics - Microelectromechanical Systems