At the end of last year, Russian rocket troops strategic purpose tested a completely new weapon, the existence of which, as was previously believed, is impossible. The nuclear-powered cruise missile, designated 9M730 by military experts, is exactly the new weapon that President Putin spoke about in his Address to the Federal Assembly. The missile test was carried out presumably at the test site. New earth, tentatively at the end of autumn 2017, but the exact data will not be declassified soon. The developer of the rocket, presumably, is also the Experimental Design Bureau "Novator" (city of Yekaterinburg). According to competent sources, the rocket hit the target in the normal mode and the tests were considered completely successful. Further, the media published alleged photographs of the launch (above) of a new rocket with a nuclear power plant and even indirect confirmation related to the presence at the estimated time of testing in the immediate vicinity of the Il-976 flying laboratory of Gromov's LII with marks of Rosatom. However, more questions have arisen. Is the declared capability of the missile to carry out an unlimited-range flight realistic and how is it achieved?

Characteristics of a cruise missile with a nuclear power plant

The characteristics of a cruise missile with nuclear weapons, which appeared in the media immediately after Vladimir Putin's speech, may differ from the real ones, which will be known later. To date, the following data on the size and performance characteristics of the rocket have become public knowledge:

Length
- starting- not less than 12 meters,
- marching- not less than 9 meters,

Rocket body diameter- about 1 meter,
Body width- about 1.5 meters,
Tail height- 3.6 - 3.8 meters

The principle of operation of a Russian nuclear-powered cruise missile

Several countries were developing missiles with a nuclear power plant at once, and the development began in the distant 1960s. The designs proposed by the engineers differed only in details; in a simplified manner, the principle of operation can be described as follows: a nuclear reactor heats a mixture entering special containers (various options, from ammonia to hydrogen), followed by ejection through nozzles under high pressure... However, the variant of the cruise missile that the Russian president spoke of does not fit any of the examples of designs previously developed.

The fact is that, according to Putin, the rocket has an almost unlimited flight range. This, of course, cannot be understood to mean that a rocket can fly for years, but it can be regarded as a direct indication that its flight range is many times greater than the flight range of modern cruise missiles. The second point, which cannot be overlooked, is also associated with the declared unlimited flight range and, accordingly, the operation of the cruise missile power unit. For example, a heterogeneous thermal neutron reactor tested in the RD-0410 engine, which was developed by Kurchatov, Keldysh and Korolev, had a test life of only 1 hour, and in this case, there can be no unlimited flight range for such a cruise missile with a nuclear engine. speech.

All this suggests that Russian scientists have proposed a completely new, previously unconsidered concept of structure, in which a substance is used for heating and subsequent ejection from a nozzle, which has a much economical consumption resource at large distances. As an example, it can be a completely new type of nuclear jet engine (NAVRD), in which the working mass is atmospheric air pumped into working tanks by compressors, heated by a nuclear installation with subsequent ejection through nozzles.

It is also worth noting that the cruise missile with a nuclear power unit announced by Vladimir Putin can fly around the zones of active operation of air and anti-missile defense systems, as well as keep the path to the target at low and ultra-low altitudes. This is possible only by equipping the missile with systems of following the landscape of the terrain, resistant to interference created by the enemy's electronic warfare.

Alexander Losev

Rapid development of rocket and space technology in the XX century was due to the military-strategic, political and, to a certain extent, ideological goals and interests of the two superpowers - the USSR and the USA, and all state space programs were a continuation of their military projects, where main task there was a need to ensure defense capability and strategic parity with a potential enemy. The cost of creating equipment and operating costs were not of fundamental importance at that time. Colossal resources were allocated for the creation of launch vehicles and spacecraft, and the 108 minutes of Yuri Gagarin's flight in 1961 and the television broadcast of Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin from the lunar surface in 1969 were not just triumphs of scientific and technical thought, they were also considered as strategic victories in battles of the Cold War.

But after the Soviet Union collapsed and dropped out of the race for world leadership, its geopolitical opponents, primarily the United States, no longer needed to implement prestigious but extremely costly space projects in order to prove to the whole world the superiority of the Western economic system and ideological concepts.
In the 90s, the main political tasks of past years lost their relevance, the bloc confrontation was replaced by globalization, pragmatism prevailed in the world, so most space programs were curtailed or postponed, only the ISS remained from large-scale projects of the past as a legacy. In addition, Western democracy has supplied all the costly government programs depending on the electoral cycles.
The voter support needed to gain or retain power makes politicians, parliaments and governments lean towards populism and solve immediate problems, so spending on space exploration is decreasing from year to year.
Most of the fundamental discoveries were made in the first half of the twentieth century, and nowadays science and technology have reached certain limits, moreover, the popularity has declined all over the world. scientific knowledge, and the quality of teaching mathematics, physics and other natural sciences has deteriorated. This has become the reason for the stagnation, including in the space sector, of the last two decades.
But now it is becoming obvious that the world is approaching the end of another technological cycle based on the discoveries of the last century. Therefore, any power that will possess fundamentally new promising technologies at the time of a change in the global technological order will automatically ensure itself world leadership for at least the next fifty years.

The basic device of a NRE with hydrogen as a working fluid

This is recognized both in the United States, where a course has been taken to revive American greatness in all spheres of activity, and in China, which is challenging American hegemony, and in the European Union, which is trying with all its might to maintain its weight in the global economy.
There is an industrial policy there and they are seriously engaged in the development of their own scientific, technical and production potential, and the space sector can become the best testing ground for developing new technologies and for proving or refuting scientific hypotheses that can lay the foundation for creating a fundamentally different, more advanced technology of the future.
And it is quite natural to expect that the United States will be the first country where deep space exploration projects will resume in order to create unique innovative technologies in the field of weapons, transport and structural materials, as well as in biomedicine and telecommunications.
True, not even for the United States, success on the path of creating revolutionary technologies is not guaranteed. There is a high risk of being stumped by improving rocket engines half a century ago based on chemical fuel, as Elon Musk's SpaceX does, or by creating life support systems for a long flight similar to those already implemented on the ISS.
Can Russia, whose stagnation in the space sector is becoming more noticeable every year, make a breakthrough in the race for future technological leadership in order to remain in the club of superpowers, and not in the list of developing countries?
Yes, of course, Russia can, and moreover, a noticeable step forward has already been made in nuclear energy and nuclear rocket technology, despite the chronic underfunding of the space industry.
The future of astronautics is the use of nuclear energy. To understand how nuclear technology and space are related, it is necessary to consider the basic principles of jet propulsion.
So, the main types of modern space engines are created on the principles of chemical energy. These are solid-propellant boosters and liquid-propellant rocket engines, in their combustion chambers the propellant components (fuel and oxidizer), entering into an exothermic physicochemical combustion reaction, form a jet stream, every second ejecting tons of matter from the engine nozzle. The kinetic energy of the working fluid of the jet is converted into a reactive force sufficient for the rocket to move. The specific impulse (the ratio of the thrust created to the mass of the fuel used) of such chemical engines depends on the fuel components, the pressure and temperature in the combustion chamber, as well as on the molecular weight of the gaseous mixture ejected through the engine nozzle.
And the higher the temperature of the substance and the pressure inside the combustion chamber, and the lower the molecular weight of the gas, the higher the specific impulse, and hence the efficiency of the engine. Specific impulse is the amount of movement, and it is customary to measure it in meters per second, as well as speed.
In chemical engines, the largest specific impulse is given by oxygen-hydrogen and fluorine-hydrogen fuel mixtures (4500-4700 m / s), but the most popular (and convenient in operation) are rocket engines running on kerosene and oxygen, for example, Soyuz and rockets "Falcon" Mask, as well as engines on asymmetric dimethylhydrazine (UDMH) with an oxidizer in the form of a mixture of nitrogen tetroxide and nitric acid (Soviet and Russian "Proton", French "Ariane", American "Titan"). Their efficiency is 1.5 times lower than that of hydrogen-fueled engines, but the impulse of 3000 m / s and power is quite enough for it to be economically profitable to launch tons of payload into low-earth orbits.
But flights to other planets require much bigger size spaceships than anything that has been created by mankind before, including the modular ISS. In these ships, it is necessary to ensure both the long-term autonomous existence of the crews, and a certain supply of fuel and the service life of the propulsion engines and engines for maneuvers and orbit correction, provide for the delivery of astronauts in a special landing module to the surface of another planet, and their return to the main transport ship, and then and the return of the expedition to Earth.
The accumulated engineering and technical knowledge and the chemical energy of the engines allow us to return to the Moon and reach Mars, so it is highly likely that in the next decade, humanity will visit the Red Planet.
If we rely only on the available space technologies, then the minimum mass of an inhabited module for a manned flight to Mars or to the satellites of Jupiter and Saturn will be approximately 90 tons, which is 3 times more than the lunar ships of the early 1970s, which means that launch vehicles for their insertion into reference orbits for further flight to Mars will be much larger than Saturn-5 (launch mass 2,965 tons) of the Apollo lunar project or the Soviet launch vehicle Energia (launch mass 2,400 tons). It will be necessary to create in orbit an interplanetary complex weighing up to 500 tons. Flight to interplanetary ship with chemical rocket engines will require from 8 months to 1 year of time only in one direction, because you will have to do gravitational maneuvers, using the force of gravity of the planets and a colossal supply of fuel for additional acceleration of the spacecraft.
But using the chemical energy of rocket engines, humanity will not fly farther than the orbit of Mars or Venus. We need other speeds of spacecraft flight and other more powerful energetics of motion.

Modern project of a nuclear rocket engine Princeton Satellite Systems

For the exploration of deep space, it is necessary to significantly increase the thrust-to-weight ratio and efficiency of the rocket engine, and hence to increase its specific impulse and service life. And for this, it is necessary to heat a gas or a substance of a working fluid with a low atomic mass inside the engine chamber to temperatures several times higher than the temperature of chemical combustion of traditional fuel mixtures, and this can be done using a nuclear reaction.
If, instead of a conventional combustion chamber, a nuclear reactor is placed inside the rocket engine, into the core of which a substance in liquid or gaseous form will be supplied, then it, warming up under great pressure up to several thousand degrees, will begin to be ejected through the nozzle channel, creating a jet thrust. The specific impulse of such a nuclear jet engine will be several times higher than that of a conventional one based on chemical components, which means that the efficiency of both the engine itself and the launch vehicle as a whole will increase many times over. In this case, an oxidizer is not required for fuel combustion, and light hydrogen gas can be used as a substance that creates jet thrust, but we know that the lower the molecular weight of the gas, the higher the momentum, and this will significantly reduce the mass of the rocket with better characteristics engine power.
A nuclear engine will be better than a conventional one, because in the reactor zone, light gas can be heated to temperatures in excess of 9 thousand Kelvin, and a jet of such superheated gas will provide a much higher specific impulse than conventional chemical engines can provide. But that's in theory.
The danger is not even that when launching a carrier rocket with such a nuclear installation, Nuclear pollution atmosphere and space around the launch pad, the main problem is that at high temperatures the engine itself can melt together with the spacecraft. Designers and engineers understand this and have been trying to find suitable solutions for several decades.
Nuclear rocket engines (NRE) have their own history of creation and operation in space. The first developments of nuclear engines began in the mid-1950s, that is, even before manned space flight, and practically simultaneously in the USSR and the USA, and the very idea of ​​using nuclear reactors to heat the working substance in a rocket engine was born together with the first rectors in mid 40s, that is, more than 70 years ago.
In our country, a thermal physicist Vitaly Mikhailovich Ievlev became the initiator of the creation of a nuclear rocket engine. In 1947 he presented a project that was supported by S.P. Korolev, I.V. Kurchatov and M.V. Keldysh. Initially, it was planned to use such engines for cruise missiles, and then put on ballistic missiles. The development was undertaken by the leading defense design bureaus of the Soviet Union, as well as research institutes NIITP, TsIAM, IAE, VNIINM.
The Soviet nuclear engine RD-0410 was assembled in the mid-60s by the Voronezh Design Bureau of Chemical Automatics, where most of the liquid-propellant rocket engines for space technology were created.
Hydrogen was used as a working fluid in RD-0410, which in liquid form passed through the "cooling jacket", removing excess heat from the nozzle walls and preventing it from melting, and then entered the reactor core, where it was heated to 3000K and ejected through the channel nozzles, thus converting thermal energy into kinetic energy and creating a specific impulse of 9100 m / s.
In the USA, the NRM project was launched in 1952, and the first operating engine was created in 1966 and was named NERVA (Nuclear Engine for Rocket Vehicle Application). In the 60s - 70s, the Soviet Union and the United States tried not to yield to each other.
True, both our RD-0410 and the American NERVA were solid-phase NRE (nuclear fuel based on uranium carbides was in a solid state in the reactor), and their working temperature was in the range of 2300-3100K.
In order to increase the core temperature without the risk of explosion or melting of the reactor walls, it is necessary to create such conditions for a nuclear reaction in which the fuel (uranium) turns into a gaseous state or turns into a plasma and is kept inside the reactor due to a strong magnetic field without touching the walls. And then the hydrogen entering the reactor core “flows around” the uranium in the gas phase, and, turning into plasma, is ejected at a very high speed through the nozzle channel.
This type of engine is called gas-phase YARD. The temperatures of gaseous uranium fuel in such nuclear engines can range from 10 thousand to 20 thousand Kelvin, and the specific impulse reaches 50,000 m / s, which is 11 times higher than that of the most efficient chemical rocket engines.
The creation and use in space technology of gas-phase NRE of open and closed types is the most promising direction development of space rocket engines and exactly what is necessary for mankind to master the planets of the solar system and their satellites.
The first research on the project of a gas-phase nuclear reactor began in the USSR in 1957 at the Research Institute of Thermal Processes (NRC named after M.V. Keldysh), and the very decision to develop nuclear space power plants based on gas-phase nuclear reactors was made in 1963 by Academician V.P. Glushko (NPO Energomash), and then approved by the decree of the Central Committee of the CPSU and the Council of Ministers of the USSR.
The development of a gas-phase NRM was carried out in the Soviet Union for two decades, but, unfortunately, it was never completed due to insufficient funding and the need for additional basic research in the field of thermodynamics of nuclear fuel and hydrogen plasma, neutron physics and magnetohydrodynamics.
Soviet nuclear scientists and design engineers faced a number of problems, such as achieving criticality and ensuring the stability of the operation of a gas-phase nuclear reactor, reducing the loss of molten uranium during the release of hydrogen heated to several thousand degrees, thermal protection of the nozzle and magnetic field generator, accumulation of uranium fission products , selection of chemically resistant construction materials, etc.
And when the Energia carrier rocket began to be created for the Soviet Mars-94 program of the first manned flight to Mars, the nuclear engine project was postponed indefinitely. The Soviet Union did not have enough time, and most importantly, political will and economic efficiency to carry out the landing of our cosmonauts on the planet Mars in 1994. This would be an indisputable achievement and proof of our leadership in high technology for the next several decades. But space, like many other things, was betrayed by the last leadership of the USSR. History can no longer be changed, left scientists and engineers cannot be returned, and lost knowledge cannot be restored. A lot will have to be re-created.
But space nuclear power is not limited only to the sphere of solid- and gas-phase NRE. Electrical energy can be used to create a heated flow of matter in a jet engine. This idea was first expressed by Konstantin Eduardovich Tsiolkovsky back in 1903 in his work "Exploration of world spaces with jet devices".
And the first electrothermal rocket engine in the USSR was created in the 1930s by Valentin Petrovich Glushko, the future academician of the USSR Academy of Sciences and the head of NPO Energia.
Electric rocket motors can work in different ways. They are usually divided into four types:

• electrothermal (heating or electric arc). In them, the gas is heated to temperatures of 1000–5000K and is ejected from the nozzle in the same way as in the NRE.
• electrostatic motors (colloidal and ionic), in which the working substance is ionized first, and then positive ions (atoms deprived of electrons) are accelerated in an electrostatic field and also ejected through the nozzle channel, creating a jet thrust. Stationary plasma thrusters are also referred to as electrostatic.
• magnetoplasma and magnetodynamic rocket engines. There, the gas plasma is accelerated by the Ampere force in the perpendicularly intersecting magnetic and electric fields.
• impulse rocket engines, which use the energy of gases arising from the evaporation of a working fluid in an electric discharge.

The advantage of these electric rocket engines is the low consumption of the working fluid, the efficiency of up to 60% and the high speed of the particle flow, which can significantly reduce the mass of the spacecraft, but there is also a disadvantage - the low thrust density, and, accordingly, low power, as well as the high cost of the working fluid (inert gases or vapors of alkali metals) to create a plasma.
All of the above types of electric motors have been implemented in practice and have been repeatedly used in space and on Soviet and American vehicles since the mid-60s, but due to their low power, they were used mainly as orbit correction engines.
From 1968 to 1988, a whole series of Kosmos satellites with nuclear installations on board were launched in the USSR. The types of reactors were named Buk, Topaz and Yenisei.
The reactor of the Yenisei project had a thermal power of up to 135 kW and an electric power of about 5 kW. The sodium-potassium melt was used as a heat carrier. This project was closed in 1996.
A true propulsion rocket motor requires a very powerful power source. And the best source of energy for such space engines is a nuclear reactor.
Nuclear energy is one of the high-tech industries where our country maintains a leading position. And a fundamentally new rocket engine is already being created in Russia, and this project is close to successful completion in 2018. Flight tests are slated for 2020.
And if the gas-phase nuclear propulsion system is a topic for the coming decades to which we will have to return after fundamental research, then its current alternative is a nuclear power plant of a megawatt class (NPP), and it has already been created by the enterprises of Rosatom and Roskosmos since 2009.
NPO Krasnaya Zvezda, which today is the world's only developer and manufacturer of space nuclear power plants, is taking part in the creation of a nuclear power engine and a transport and energy module, as well as Research Center them. M. V. Keldysh, NIKIET them. N. A. Dollezhal, NII NPO Luch, Kurchatov Institute, IRM, IPPE, NIIAR and NPO Mashinostroyenia.
The nuclear power plant includes a high-temperature gas-cooled fast neutron nuclear reactor with a turbomachine conversion system of thermal energy into electrical energy, a system of radiator-coolers for removing excess heat into space, an instrumentation and assembly compartment, a unit of propulsion plasma or ion electric motors and a container for placing a payload ...
In the power propulsion system, the nuclear reactor serves as a source of electricity for the operation of electric plasma engines, while the gas coolant of the reactor, passing through the core, enters the turbine of the electric generator and compressor and returns back to the reactor in a closed loop, and is not thrown into space, as in the NRE, which makes the structure more reliable and safe, which means it is suitable for manned space exploration.
It is planned that the nuclear propulsion system will be used for a reusable space tug to ensure the delivery of cargo during the exploration of the Moon or the creation of multipurpose orbital complexes. The advantage will be not only the reusable use of the elements of the transport system (which is what Elon Musk is trying to achieve in his space projects SpaceX), but also the ability to deliver three times the mass of cargo than on rockets with chemical jet engines of comparable power due to a decrease in the starting mass of the transport system. The special design of the plant makes it safe for people and the environment on Earth.
In 2014, the first fuel element (fuel element) of a standard design for this nuclear electric propulsion system, and in 2016 a simulator of the reactor core basket was tested.
Now (in 2017), work is underway on the manufacture of structural elements of the installation and testing of components and assemblies on mock-ups, as well as autonomous tests of turbomachine power conversion systems and prototypes of power units. Completion of the work is scheduled for the end of next 2018, however, since 2015, the backlog has begun to accumulate.
So, as soon as this installation is created, Russia will become the first country in the world with nuclear space technologies, which will form the basis of not only future projects for the development of the solar system, but also terrestrial and extraterrestrial energy. Space nuclear power plants can be used to create systems for remote transmission of electricity to Earth or to space modules using electromagnetic radiation. And this will also become the advanced technology of the future, where our country will have a leading position.
On the basis of the developed plasma electric motors, powerful propulsion systems will be created for long-distance manned flights into space and, first of all, for the exploration of Mars, the orbit of which can be reached in just 1.5 months, and not in more than a year, as when using conventional chemical jet engines. ...
And the future always starts with a revolution in energy. And nothing else. Energy is primary, and it is the amount of energy consumption that affects technical progress, defense capability and the quality of life of people.

NASA Experimental Plasma Rocket Engine

Soviet astrophysicist Nikolai Kardashev back in 1964 proposed a scale for the development of civilizations. According to this scale, the level of technological development of civilizations depends on the amount of energy that the population of the planet uses for their needs. This is how type I civilization uses all available resources on the planet; type II civilization - receives the energy of its star, in the system of which it is located; and a Type III civilization uses the available energy of its galaxy. Humanity has not yet matured to type I civilization on this scale. We use only 0.16% of the total potential energy supply of the planet Earth. This means that both Russia and the whole world have room to grow, and these nuclear technologies will open the way for our country not only to space, but also future economic prosperity.
And, perhaps, the only option for Russia in the scientific and technical sphere is now to make a revolutionary breakthrough in nuclear space technologies in order to overcome in one "leap" a long-term lag behind the leaders and be immediately at the origins of a new technological revolution in the next cycle of human civilization. Such a unique chance falls to this or that country only once in several centuries.
Unfortunately, Russia, which has not paid due attention to basic sciences and the quality of higher and secondary education, risks losing this chance forever if the program is curtailed, and a new generation of researchers does not come to replace the current scientists and engineers. The geopolitical and technological challenges that Russia will face in 10-12 years will be very serious, comparable to those of the mid-20th century. In order to preserve the sovereignty and integrity of Russia in the future, it is urgently necessary to begin training specialists capable of responding to these challenges and creating something fundamentally new.
There are only about 10 years to turn Russia into a world intellectual and technological center, and this cannot be done without a serious change in the quality of education. For a scientific and technological breakthrough, it is necessary to return to the education system (both school and university) the consistency of views on the picture of the world, scientific fundamentality and ideological integrity.
As for the current stagnation in the space industry, this is not a big deal. The physical principles on which modern space technologies are based will be in demand in the conventional satellite services sector for a long time to come. Recall that mankind has been using sail for 5.5 thousand years, and the steam era lasted for almost 200 years, and only in the twentieth century the world began to change rapidly, because another scientific and technological revolution took place, which launched a wave of innovations and a change in technological paradigms, which ultimately changed and world economy and politics. The main thing is to be at the origins of these changes.

Carefully many letters.

A flight prototype of a spacecraft with a nuclear power propulsion system (NPP) in Russia is planned to be created by 2025. The corresponding work is laid down in the draft of the Federal Space Program for 2016–2025 (FKP-25), sent by Roscosmos for approval to the ministries.

Nuclear power systems are considered the main promising sources of energy in space when planning large-scale interplanetary expeditions. Provision of megawatt power in space in the future will allow the nuclear power plant, the creation of which is now being carried out by the enterprises of Rosatom.

All work on the creation of a nuclear power plant is proceeding in accordance with the planned terms. We can say with a high degree of confidence that the work will be completed on time, stipulated by the target program, ”says Andrey Ivanov, project manager of the communications department of the Rosatom state corporation.

Recently, within the framework of the project, two important stages have been passed: a unique design of the fuel element has been created, which ensures operability in conditions of high temperatures, large temperature gradients, and high-dose irradiation. Technological tests of the reactor vessel of the future space power unit have also been successfully completed. As part of these tests, the body was pressurized and 3D measurements were made in the base metal, girth weld, and tapered transition zones.

Operating principle. History of creation.

There are no fundamental difficulties with a nuclear reactor for space applications. In the period from 1962 to 1993, our country has accumulated rich experience in the production of similar installations. Similar work was carried out in the United States. Since the beginning of the 1960s, several types of electric jet engines have been developed in the world: ionic, stationary plasma, anode layer engine, pulsed plasma engine, magnetoplasma, magnetoplasmodynamic.

Work on the creation of nuclear engines for spacecraft was actively carried out in the USSR and the USA in the last century: the Americans closed the project in 1994, the USSR in 1988. The closure of the works was largely facilitated by Chernobyl disaster, which negatively tuned public opinion towards the use of nuclear energy. In addition, tests of nuclear installations in space were not always carried out routinely: in 1978, the Soviet satellite "Kosmos-954" entered the atmosphere and collapsed, scattering thousands of radioactive fragments over an area of ​​100 thousand square meters. km in the northwestern regions of Canada. The Soviet Union paid Canada more than $ 10 million in compensation.

In May 1988, two organizations - the Federation of American Scientists and the Committee of Soviet Scientists for Peace against the Nuclear Threat - made a joint proposal to ban the use of nuclear energy in outer space. That proposal did not receive formal implications, but since then no country has launched spacecraft with nuclear power plants on board.

The great advantages of the project are practically important operational characteristics - a long service life (10 years of operation), a significant overhaul interval and a long operating time with one switch-on.

In 2010, technical proposals for the project were formulated. From this year, the design began.

The nuclear power plant contains three main devices: 1) a reactor plant with a working fluid and auxiliary devices (heat exchanger-recuperator and turbine generator-compressor); 2) an electric rocket propulsion system; 3) refrigerator-radiator.

Reactor.

From a physical point of view, it is a compact gas-cooled fast neutron reactor.
A compound (dioxide or carbonitride) of uranium is used as a fuel, but since the design must be very compact, uranium has a higher enrichment in isotope 235 than in fuel elements at conventional (civil) nuclear power plants, possibly higher than 20%. And their shell is a monocrystalline alloy of refractory metals based on molybdenum.

This fuel will have to operate at very high temperatures. Therefore, it was necessary to select materials that would be able to contain the negative factors associated with temperature, and at the same time allow the fuel to perform its main function - to heat the gas heat carrier, with the help of which electricity will be produced.

Fridge.

Gas cooling during operation nuclear facility absolutely necessary. How do you release heat in outer space? The only option is cooling by radiation. The heated surface in the void is cooled, radiating electromagnetic waves in a wide range, including visible light. The uniqueness of the project lies in the use of a special coolant - helium-xenon mixture. The installation provides a high efficiency.

Engine.

The principle of operation of the ion engine is as follows. A rarefied plasma is created in the gas discharge chamber with the help of anodes and a cathode block located in a magnetic field. The ions of the working medium (xenon or other substance) are "drawn out" from it by the emission electrode and are accelerated in the gap between it and the accelerating electrode.

To implement the plan, 17 billion rubles were promised in the period from 2010 to 2018. Of these funds, 7.245 billion rubles were allocated to the state corporation "Rosatom" for the creation of the reactor itself. Other 3.955 billion - FSUE "Keldysh Center" for the creation of a nuclear - power propulsion plant. Another 5.8 billion rubles - for RSC Energia, where the working appearance of the entire transport and energy module is to be formed in the same time frame.

According to plans, by the end of 2017, a nuclear power propulsion system will be prepared to complete the transport and energy module (interplanetary flight module). By the end of 2018, the nuclear power plant will be prepared for flight design tests. The project is financed from the federal budget.

It is no secret that work on the creation of nuclear rocket engines began in the United States and the USSR back in the 60s of the last century. How far have they come? And what problems did you have to face along the way?

Anatoly Koroteev: Indeed, work on the use of nuclear energy in space began and was actively pursued in our country and in the United States in the 1960s and 1970s.

Initially, the task was set to create rocket engines, which, instead of the chemical energy of combustion of fuel and oxidizer, would use the heating of hydrogen to a temperature of about 3000 degrees. But it turned out that such a direct route is still ineffective. We are on a short time we get large thrust, but at the same time we throw out a jet, which in case of abnormal operation of the reactor may turn out to be radioactively contaminated.

Certain experience was accumulated, but neither we nor the Americans were able to create reliable engines at that time. They worked, but not much, because heating hydrogen to 3000 degrees in a nuclear reactor is a serious task. And besides, there were environmental problems during ground tests of such engines, since radioactive jets were released into the atmosphere. It is no longer a secret that such work was carried out at the Semipalatinsk test site specially prepared for nuclear tests, which remained in Kazakhstan.

That is, two parameters turned out to be critical - the prohibitive temperature and radiation emissions?

Anatoly Koroteev: In general, yes. Due to these and some other reasons, work in our country and in the United States was stopped or suspended - you can evaluate it in different ways. And it seemed to us unreasonable to renew them in such a, I would say, frontal way, in order to make a nuclear engine with all the already mentioned disadvantages. We have proposed a completely different approach. It differs from the old one in the same way that a hybrid car differs from a conventional one. In a normal car, the engine turns the wheels, and in hybrid cars, electricity is generated from the engine, and this electricity turns the wheels. That is, a kind of intermediate power plant is being created.

So we have proposed a scheme in which the space reactor does not heat the jet ejected from it, but generates electricity. The hot gas from the reactor turns the turbine, the turbine turns the electric generator and the compressor, which circulates the working fluid in a closed loop. The generator generates electricity for the plasma engine with a specific thrust 20 times higher than that of its chemical counterparts.

A tricky scheme. Essentially, this is a mini-nuclear power plant in space. And what are its advantages over a ramjet nuclear engine?

Anatoly Koroteev: The main thing is that the jet coming out of the new engine will not be radioactive, since a completely different working fluid passes through the reactor, which is contained in a closed loop.

In addition, with this scheme, we do not need to heat hydrogen to exorbitant values: an inert working fluid circulates in the reactor, which heats up to 1500 degrees. We are seriously simplifying our task. And as a result, we will raise the specific thrust not twice, but 20 times in comparison with chemical engines.

Another thing is also important: there is no need for complex field tests, for which the infrastructure of the former Semipalatinsk test site is needed, in particular, the bench base that remained in the city of Kurchatov.

In our case, all the necessary tests can be carried out on the territory of Russia, without getting involved in long international negotiations on the use of nuclear energy outside of their state.

Are similar works being carried out in other countries now?

Anatoly Koroteev: I had a meeting with the deputy head of NASA, we discussed issues related to the return to work on nuclear energy in space, and he said that the Americans are showing great interest in this.

It is possible that China can respond active action from our side, therefore we must work quickly. And not only in order to get ahead of someone by half a step.

We need to work quickly, first of all, so that in the emerging international cooperation, and de facto it is being formed, we look worthy.

I do not exclude the possibility that in the near future an international program for a nuclear space power plant, similar to the program for controlled thermonuclear fusion, is being implemented now.

Soviet and American scientists have been developing nuclear-powered rocket engines since the middle of the 20th century. These developments did not advance further than prototypes and single tests, but now the only rocket propulsion system that uses nuclear energy is being created in Russia. Reactor studied the history of attempts to introduce nuclear rocket engines.

When humanity had just begun to conquer space, scientists were faced with the task of supplying energy to spacecraft. Researchers drew attention to the possibility of using nuclear energy in space, creating the concept of a nuclear rocket engine. Such an engine was supposed to use the energy of fission or fusion of nuclei to create jet thrust.

In the USSR, already in 1947, work began on the creation of a nuclear rocket engine. In 1953 Soviet specialists noted that “the use of atomic energy will make it possible to obtain practically unlimited ranges and to drastically reduce the flight weight of missiles” (quotation from the publication “Nuclear Rocket Engines” edited by AS Koroteev, Moscow, 2001). Then propulsion systems for nuclear energy were intended, first of all, to equip ballistic missiles Therefore, the government's interest in the development was great. US President John F. Kennedy in 1961 named the national program to create a nuclear-powered rocket (Project Rover) one of the four priority areas in the conquest of space.

Reactor KIWI, 1959. Photo: NASA.

In the late 1950s, American scientists created the KIWI reactors. They have been tested many times, the developers have made a large number of modifications. Often during the tests, failures occurred, for example, once the core of the engine was destroyed and a large leak of hydrogen was discovered.

In the early 1960s, both in the United States and in the USSR, prerequisites were created for the implementation of plans to create nuclear rocket engines, but each country went its own way. The USA has created many designs of solid-phase reactors for such engines and tested them on open stands. The USSR was working out the fuel assembly and other engine elements, preparing the production, testing, personnel base for a wider "offensive".

NERVA NRE scheme. Illustration: NASA.

In the United States, already in 1962, President Kennedy announced that "a nuclear rocket will not be used in the first flights to the moon," so it is worth directing the funds allocated for space exploration to other developments. At the turn of the 1960s and 1970s, two more reactors were tested (PEWEE in 1968 and NF-1 in 1972) under the NERVA program. But funding was focused on the lunar program, so the US nuclear propulsion program dwindled in volume and was closed in 1972.

NASA film about the NERVA nuclear jet engine.

In the Soviet Union, the development of nuclear rocket engines continued until the 1970s, and they were led by the now famous triad of Russian academicians: Mstislav Keldysh, Igor Kurchatov, etc. They assessed the possibilities of creating and using missiles with nuclear engines rather optimistically. It seemed that the USSR was about to launch such a missile. They passed fire tests at the Semipalatinsk test site - in 1978, the first reactor of the 11B91 nuclear rocket engine (or RD-0410) was launched, then two more series of tests - the second and third 11B91-IR-100 vehicles. These were the first and last Soviet nuclear rocket engines.

M.V. Keldysh and S.P. Korolev visiting I.V. Kurchatov, 1959

Sergeev Aleksey, 9 "A" class MOU "Secondary School No. 84"

Scientific consultant: Deputy Director of the non-profit partnership for scientific and innovative activities "Tomsk Atomic Center"

Head:, teacher of physics, MOU "Secondary School No. 84" ZATO Seversk

Introduction

Propulsion systems on board the spacecraft are designed to generate thrust or angular momentum. According to the type of thrust used, the propulsion system is divided into chemical (CRD) and non-chemical (NHRD). HRM are divided into liquid (LPRE), solid propellant (solid propellant rocket engines) and combined (KRD). In turn, non-chemical propulsion systems are divided into nuclear (NRE) and electric (ERE). Great scientist Konstantin Eduardovich Tsiolkovsky a century ago created the first model of a propulsion system that worked on solid and liquid fuels. After, in the second half of the 20th century, thousands of flights were carried out using mainly liquid propellant engines and solid propellants.

However, at present, for flights to other planets, not to mention the stars, the use of liquid-propellant rocket engines and solid propellants is becoming more and more unprofitable, although many RDs have been developed. Most likely, the capabilities of liquid-propellant rocket engines and solid propellants have completely exhausted themselves. The reason here is that the specific impulse of all chemical taxiways is low and does not exceed 5000 m / s, which requires long-term propulsion operation and, accordingly, large fuel reserves to develop sufficiently high speeds, or, as is customary in cosmonautics, large values ​​of the Tsiolkovsky number are required, i.e. That is, the ratio of the mass of the fueled rocket to the mass of the empty one. So the LV Energia, which injects 100 tons of payload into a low orbit, has a launch mass of about 3000 tons, which gives a value for the Tsiolkovsky number within 30.

For a flight to Mars, for example, the Tsiolkovsky number should be even higher, reaching values ​​from 30 to 50. It is not difficult to estimate that with a payload of about 1,000 tons, namely within such limits, the minimum mass required to provide all the necessary crew starting to Mars fluctuates Taking into account the fuel supply for the return flight to the Earth, the initial mass of the spacecraft should be at least 30,000 tons, which is clearly outside the level of development of modern cosmonautics based on the use of liquid-propellant rocket engines and solid propellants.

Thus, in order to reach even the nearest planets by manned crews, it is necessary to develop launch vehicles on engines operating on principles different from chemical propulsion systems. The most promising in this regard are electric jet engines (ERE), thermochemical rocket engines and nuclear jet engines (NRE).

1 basic concepts

A rocket engine is a jet engine that does not use the environment (air, water) for operation. The most widely used are chemical rocket engines. Other types of rocket engines are being developed and tested - electric, nuclear and others. The simplest rocket engines operating on compressed gases are also widely used in space stations and spacecraft. Usually nitrogen is used as a working fluid in them. /1/

Classification of propulsion systems

2. Purpose of rocket engines

According to their purpose, rocket engines are divided into several main types: accelerating (starting), braking, cruising, control and others. Rocket motors are primarily used on rockets (hence the name). In addition, rocket engines are sometimes used in aviation. Rocket engines are the main engines in space exploration.

Military (combat) missiles are usually solid-propellant. This is due to the fact that such an engine is refueled at the factory and does not require maintenance for the entire storage and service life of the rocket itself. Solid-propellant engines are often used as boosters for space rockets. Especially widely, in this capacity, they are used in the USA, France, Japan and China.

Liquid-propellant rocket engines have higher thrust characteristics than solid-propellant ones. Therefore, they are used to launch space rockets into orbit around the Earth and for interplanetary flights. The main liquid fuels for rockets are kerosene, heptane (dimethylhydrazine) and liquid hydrogen. For these types of fuel, an oxidizing agent (oxygen) is required. Nitric acid and liquefied oxygen are used as oxidizing agents in such engines. Nitric acid is inferior to liquefied oxygen in terms of oxidizing properties, but does not require special maintenance. temperature regime when storing, refueling and using rockets

Spaceflight engines are different from earthly topics that they, with the smallest possible mass and volume, should generate as much power as possible. In addition, they are subject to such requirements as extremely high efficiency and reliability, significant operating time. According to the type of energy used, propulsion systems of spacecraft are subdivided into four types: thermochemical, nuclear, electric, solar - sailing. Each of these types has its own advantages and disadvantages and can be used in certain conditions.

Currently, spacecraft, orbital stations and unmanned Earth satellites are launched into space by rockets equipped with powerful thermochemical engines. There are also miniature low-thrust engines. This is a miniature copy of powerful engines. Some of them may fit in the palm of your hand. The thrust of such engines is very small, but it is enough to control the position of the ship in space.

3. Thermochemical rocket engines.

It is known that in the engine internal combustion, the furnace of a steam boiler - wherever combustion occurs, atmospheric oxygen takes an active part. There is no air in outer space, and for rocket engines to operate in outer space, it is necessary to have two components - a fuel and an oxidizer.

In liquid thermochemical rocket engines, alcohol, kerosene, gasoline, aniline, hydrazine, dimethylhydrazine, and liquid hydrogen are used as fuel. Liquid oxygen, hydrogen peroxide, and nitric acid are used as oxidizing agents. Perhaps, in the future, liquid fluorine will be used as an oxidizing agent when methods for storing and using such an active chemical are invented.

Fuel and oxidizer for liquid jet engines are stored separately, in special tanks and pumped into the combustion chamber using pumps. When they are combined in the combustion chamber, a temperature of up to 3000 - 4500 ° C develops.

Combustion products, expanding, acquire a speed of 2500 to 4500 m / s. Pushing off from the engine body, they create jet thrust. Moreover, the greater the mass and velocity of the gas outflow, the greater the thrust force of the engine.

It is customary to estimate the specific thrust of engines by the amount of thrust created by a unit of mass of fuel burned per second. This value is called the specific impulse of the rocket engine and is measured in seconds (kg of thrust / kg of fuel burned per second). The best solid-propellant rocket engines have a specific impulse of up to 190 s, that is, 1 kg of fuel burning in one second creates a thrust of 190 kg. The hydrogen-oxygen rocket engine has a specific impulse of 350 s. In theory, a hydrogen-fluorine engine can develop a specific impulse of more than 400s.

The commonly used scheme of a liquid propellant rocket engine works as follows. The compressed gas creates the necessary pressure in the cryogenic fuel tanks to prevent the formation of gas bubbles in the pipelines. Pumps supply fuel to rocket motors. Fuel is injected into the combustion chamber through a large number of injectors. An oxidizer is also injected into the combustion chamber through the nozzles.

In any car, during the combustion of fuel, large heat fluxes are formed, heating the walls of the engine. If you do not cool the walls of the chamber, then it will quickly burn out, no matter what material it is made of. A liquid propellant jet engine is usually cooled by one of the propellant components. For this, the chamber is made two-wall. The cold fuel component flows in the gap between the walls.

Aluminum "href =" / text / category / alyuminij / "rel =" bookmark "> aluminum, etc. Especially as an additive to conventional fuel, such as hydrogen-oxygen. Such" triple compositions "are able to provide the highest speed possible for chemical fuels outflow - up to 5 km / s. But this is practically the limit of the resources of chemistry. It practically cannot do more. Although liquid-propellant rocket engines still prevail in the proposed description, it must be said that a thermochemical solid-fuel rocket engine was created for the first time in the history of mankind - Solid propellant. Fuel - for example, special gunpowder - is located directly in the combustion chamber. Combustion chamber with a jet nozzle, filled with solid fuel - that's the whole structure. The solid propellant combustion mode depends on the purpose of the solid propellant rocket (launch, sustainer or combined). For solid-propellant rockets used in military science is characterized by the presence of starting and sustaining engines. a short time, which is necessary for the missile to leave the launcher and its initial acceleration. The sustainer solid propellant is designed to maintain constant speed the flight of the rocket on the main (marching) segment of the flight trajectory. The differences between them are mainly in the design of the combustion chamber and the profile of the combustion surface of the fuel charge, which determine the rate of combustion of the fuel on which the operating time and engine thrust depend. In contrast to such rockets, space launch vehicles for launching Earth satellites, orbital stations and spacecraft, as well as interplanetary stations, operate only in the starting mode from the launch of the rocket to the launch of the object into orbit around the Earth or to an interplanetary trajectory. In general, solid rocket engines do not have many advantages over liquid propellant engines: they are easy to manufacture, long time can be stored, always ready for action, relatively explosion-proof. But in terms of specific thrust, solid-fuel engines are 10-30% inferior to liquid ones.

4 electric rocket motors

Almost all rocket engines discussed above develop tremendous power thrust and are designed to launch spacecraft into orbit around the Earth and accelerate them to cosmic speeds for interplanetary flights. It is quite another matter - propulsion systems for spacecraft already launched into orbit or into the interplanetary trajectory. Here, as a rule, low-power motors (several kilowatts or even watts) are needed that can operate for hundreds and thousands of hours and turn on and off repeatedly. They allow you to maintain flight in orbit or along a given trajectory, compensating for the flight resistance created by the upper atmosphere and the solar wind. In electric rocket engines, a working fluid is accelerated to a certain speed by heating it with electrical energy. Electricity comes from solar panels or a nuclear power plant. Methods of heating the working fluid are different, but in reality it is mainly used by electric arc. It has shown itself to be very reliable and withstands a large number of inclusions. Hydrogen is used as a working medium in electric arc engines. An electric arc heats hydrogen to a very high temperature and turns it into plasma, an electrically neutral mixture of positive ions and electrons. The speed of plasma outflow from the engine reaches 20 km / s. When scientists solve the problem of magnetic isolation of the plasma from the walls of the engine chamber, then it will be possible to significantly increase the temperature of the plasma and bring the flow velocity up to 100 km / s. The first electric rocket engine was developed in the Soviet Union in the years. under the leadership (later he became the creator of engines for Soviet space rockets and an academician) in the famous gas dynamic laboratory (GDL). / 10 /

5.Other types of motors

There are also more exotic projects of nuclear rocket engines, in which the fissile substance is in a liquid, gaseous or even plasma state, however, the implementation of such structures at modern level technique and technology is unrealistic. There are, while at the theoretical or laboratory stage, the following rocket engine projects

Pulsed nuclear rocket engines using the energy of explosions of small nuclear charges;

Thermonuclear rocket engines that can use a hydrogen isotope as fuel. The energy productivity of hydrogen in such a reaction is 6.8 * 1011 KJ / kg, that is, approximately two orders of magnitude higher than the productivity of nuclear fission reactions;

Solar sailing motors - which use pressure sunlight(solar wind), the existence of which was experimentally proved by a Russian physicist back in 1899. By calculation, scientists have established that an apparatus with a mass of 1 ton, equipped with a sail with a diameter of 500 m, can fly from Earth to Mars in about 300 days. However, the efficiency of a solar sail decreases rapidly with distance from the Sun.

6 nuclear rocket motors

One of the main disadvantages of liquid propellant rocket engines is associated with the limited flow rate of gases. In nuclear rocket engines, it seems possible to use the colossal energy released during the decomposition of nuclear "fuel" to heat the working substance. The principle of operation of nuclear rocket engines is almost the same as the principle of operation of thermochemical engines. The difference lies in the fact that the working fluid is heated not due to its own chemical energy, but due to the "extraneous" energy released during the intranuclear reaction. The working fluid is passed through a nuclear reactor, in which the fission reaction takes place atomic nuclei(for example, uranium), and at the same time heats up. Nuclear rocket motors eliminate the need for an oxidizer and therefore only one liquid can be used. As a working fluid, it is advisable to use substances that allow the engine to develop a high thrust force. This condition is most fully satisfied by hydrogen, followed by ammonia, hydrazine and water. The processes in which nuclear energy is released are subdivided into radioactive transformations, fission reactions of heavy nuclei, and the reaction of fusion of light nuclei. Radioisotope transformations are realized in the so-called isotopic energy sources. Specific mass energy (the energy that a substance weighing 1 kg can release) of artificial radioactive isotopes significantly higher than chemical fuels. So, for 210Ро it is equal to 5 * 10 8 KJ / kg, while for the most energetic chemical fuel (beryllium with oxygen) this value does not exceed 3 * 10 4 KJ / kg. Unfortunately, it is not rational to use such engines on space launch vehicles. The reason for this is the high cost of the isotopic substance and the difficulty of operation. After all, the isotope releases energy constantly, even when it is transported in a special container and when the rocket is parked at the start. Nuclear reactors use more energy efficient fuel. Thus, the specific mass energy of 235U (the fissile isotope of uranium) is 6.75 * 10 9 kJ / kg, that is, about an order of magnitude higher than that of the isotope 210Ро. These engines can be turned on and off, nuclear fuel (233U, 235U, 238U, 239Pu) is much cheaper than isotopic fuel. In such engines, not only water can be used as a working fluid, but also more efficient working substances - alcohol, ammonia, liquid hydrogen. The specific thrust of an engine with liquid hydrogen is 900 s. In the simplest scheme of a nuclear rocket engine with a reactor running on solid nuclear fuel, the working fluid is located in the tank. The pump delivers it to the engine chamber. Spraying with the help of nozzles, the working fluid comes into contact with the heat-generating nuclear fuel, heats up, expands and at high speed is thrown out through the nozzle. Nuclear fuel surpasses any other type of fuel in energy storage. Then a natural question arises - why do installations on this fuel still have a relatively small specific thrust and a large mass? The fact is that the specific thrust of a solid-phase nuclear rocket engine is limited by the temperature of the fissile material, and power plant when working, it emits strong ionizing radiation, which has a harmful effect on living organisms. Biological protection against such radiation is of great importance and is not applicable to space aircraft... The practical development of nuclear rocket engines using solid nuclear fuel began in the mid-50s of the 20th century in the Soviet Union and the United States, almost simultaneously with the construction of the first nuclear power plants... The work was carried out in an atmosphere of increased secrecy, but it is known that such rocket engines have not yet received real use in astronautics. So far, everything has been limited to the use of isotopic sources of electricity of relatively low power on unmanned artificial earth satellites, interplanetary spacecraft and the world famous Soviet "lunar rover".

7. Nuclear jet engines, the principle of operation, methods of obtaining an impulse in the NRE.

NRE got their name due to the fact that they create thrust through the use of nuclear energy, that is, the energy that is released as a result of nuclear reactions. In a general sense, these reactions mean any changes in the energy state of atomic nuclei, as well as the transformation of some nuclei into others, associated with a rearrangement of the structure of nuclei or a change in the number of elementary particles contained in them - nucleons. Moreover, nuclear reactions, as is known, can occur either spontaneously (i.e., spontaneously), or be induced artificially, for example, when some nuclei are bombarded with other (or elementary particles). Nuclear fission and fusion reactions in terms of energy exceed chemical reactions by millions and tens of millions of times, respectively. This is explained by the fact that the chemical bond energy of atoms in molecules is many times less than the nuclear bond energy of nucleons in the nucleus. Nuclear energy in rocket engines can be used in two ways:

1. The released energy is used to heat the working fluid, which then expands in the nozzle, just like in a conventional rocket engine.

2. Nuclear power converted into electrical and then used to ionize and disperse particles of the working fluid.

3. Finally, the impulse is created by the fission products themselves, formed in the process, for example, refractory metals- tungsten, molybdenum) are used to impart special properties to fissile substances.

The fuel elements of the solid-phase reactor are pierced by channels through which the NRE working fluid flows, gradually heating up. The channels have a diameter of the order of 1-3 mm, and their total area is 20-30% of the cross-section of the core. The core is suspended by means of a special grating inside the power case so that it can expand when the reactor is heated (otherwise it would collapse due to thermal stresses).

The core experiences high mechanical loads associated with the action of significant hydraulic pressure drops (up to several tens of atmospheres) from the flowing working fluid, thermal stresses and vibrations. The increase in the size of the core during heating of the reactor reaches several centimeters. The active zone and reflector are placed inside a robust force body that perceives the pressure of the working fluid and the thrust generated by the jet nozzle. The body is closed with a sturdy lid. It accommodates pneumatic, spring or electric drive mechanisms of regulating bodies, nodes for attaching the NRE to the spacecraft, flanges for connecting the NRE with the working fluid supply pipelines. A turbo pump unit can also be located on the cover.

8 - Nozzle,

9 - Expanding nozzle attachment,

10 - Selection of working substance for the turbine,

11 - Power body,

12 - Control drum,

13 - Turbine exhaust (used to control orientation and increase thrust),

14 - Ring of drives of control drums)

At the beginning of 1957, the final direction of the Los Alamos Laboratory's work was determined, and a decision was made to build a graphite nuclear reactor with uranium fuel dispersed in graphite. The Kiwi-A reactor created in this direction was tested in 1959 on July 1.

American solid state nuclear jet engine XE Prime on a test bench (1968)

In addition to the construction of the reactor, the Los Alamos Laboratory was in full swing on the construction of a special test site in Nevada, and also carried out a number of special orders of the US Air Force in related areas (development of individual TNRD units). On behalf of the Los Alamos Laboratory, all special orders for the manufacture of individual units were carried out by the following companies: Aerojet General, a Rocketdyne division of North American Aviation. In the summer of 1958, all control over the implementation of the Rover program was transferred from the US Air Force to the newly organized National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA). As a result of a special agreement between the CAE and NASA, in mid-summer 1960, the Office of Space Nuclear Engines was formed under the leadership of G. Finger, who later headed the Rover program.

The results of six "hot tests" of nuclear jet engines were very encouraging, and in early 1961 a Reactor In-Flight Test (RJFT) report was issued. Then, in mid-1961, the Nerva project was launched (the use of a nuclear engine for space rockets). Aerojet General was selected as the general contractor and Westinghouse as the subcontractor responsible for the construction of the reactor.

10.2 Work on TNRE in Russia

American "href =" / text / category / amerikanetc / "rel =" bookmark "> Americans, Russian scientists used the most economical and efficient tests of individual fuel elements in research reactors. Salyut ", KB Khimavtomatiki, IAE, NIKIET and NPO Luch (PNITI) to develop various projects of space nuclear propellants and hybrid nuclear power propulsion units. In KB Khimavtomatiki under the scientific leadership of NIITP (the reactor elements were responsible for FEI, IAE, NIKIET, NIITVEL, NPO" Luch ", MAI) were created YARD RD 0411 and a nuclear engine of minimum dimension RD 0410 with a thrust of 40 and 3.6 tons, respectively.

As a result, a reactor, a "cold" engine and a bench prototype for testing on gaseous hydrogen were manufactured. Unlike the American one, with a specific impulse of no more than 8250 m / s, the Soviet TNRE, due to the use of more heat-resistant and advanced fuel elements and a high temperature in the core, had this indicator equal to 9100 m / s and higher. The bench base for testing the TNRM of the joint expedition of NPO "Luch" was located 50 km south-west of the city of Semipalatinsk-21. She started working in 1962. In years. the full-scale fuel elements of the prototypes of the nuclear rocket engine were tested at the test site. In this case, the waste gas entered the closed discharge system. The Baikal-1 bench complex for full-size tests of nuclear engines is located 65 km south of the city of Semipalatinsk-21. From 1970 to 1988, about 30 "hot starts" of the reactors were carried out. At the same time, the power did not exceed 230 MW with a hydrogen flow rate of up to 16.5 kg / sec and its temperature at the reactor outlet of 3100 K. All launches were successful, without accident, and according to plan.

Soviet TYRD RD-0410 - the only working and reliable industrial nuclear rocket engine in the world

Currently, such work at the landfill has been discontinued, although the equipment is maintained in a relatively efficient condition. The bench base of NPO Luch is the only experimental complex in the world where it is possible to carry out tests of elements of NRD reactors without significant financial and time costs. It is possible that the resumption in the United States of work on TNRE for flights to the Moon and Mars within the framework of the Space Research Initiative program with the planned participation of specialists from Russia and Kazakhstan will lead to the resumption of the Semipalatinsk base and the implementation of the “Martian” expedition in the 2020s. ...

Main characteristics

Specific impulse on hydrogen: 910 - 980 sec(theory up to 1000 sec).

· Speed ​​of the outflow of the working fluid (hydrogen): 9100 - 9800 m / sec.

· Achievable thrust: up to hundreds and thousands of tons.

· Maximum operating temperatures: 3000 ° C - 3700 ° C (short-term activation).

· Service life: up to several thousand hours (periodic activation). /5/

11.Device

Device of the Soviet solid-phase nuclear rocket engine RD-0410

1 - line from the working fluid tank

2 - turbo pump unit

3 - regulating drum drive

4 - radiation protection

5 - regulating drum

6 - retarder

7 - fuel assembly

8 - reactor vessel

9 - fire bottom

10 - nozzle cooling line

11- nozzle chamber

12 - nozzle

12.Principle of work

The TNRP by its principle of operation is a high-temperature reactor-heat exchanger, into which a working fluid (liquid hydrogen) is introduced under pressure, and as it heats up to high temperatures (over 3000 ° C), it is ejected through a cooled nozzle. The regeneration of heat in the nozzle is very beneficial, since it allows the hydrogen to be heated up much faster and, by utilizing a significant amount of thermal energy, to increase the specific impulse up to 1000 sec (9100- 9800 m / s).

Nuclear rocket engine reactor

MsoNormalTable ">

Working body

Density, g / cm3

Specific thrust (at the indicated temperatures in the heating chamber, ° K), sec

0.071 (liquid)

0.682 (liquid)

1,000 (liquid)

no. dunn

no. dunn

no. dunn

(Note: The pressure in the heating chamber is 45.7 atm, expansion to a pressure of 1 atm with a constant chemical composition of the working fluid) /6/

15.Advantages

The main advantage of the TNRE over chemical rocket engines is to obtain a higher specific impulse, significant energy storage, compactness of the system and the possibility of obtaining very high thrust (tens, hundreds and thousands of tons in a vacuum. In general, the specific impulse achieved in a vacuum is greater than that of a spent two-component chemical rocket fuel (kerosene-oxygen, hydrogen-oxygen) by 3-4 times, and when operating at the highest heat intensity by 4-5 times. space exploration), such engines can be produced in a short time and will have a reasonable cost. additional use perturbation maneuvers using the gravitational field of large planets (Jupiter, Uranus, Saturn, Neptune), the achievable boundaries of studying the solar system are significantly expanding, and the time required to reach distant planets is significantly reduced. In addition, the TNRE can be successfully used for spacecraft operating in low orbits of giant planets using their rarefied atmosphere as a working medium, or for work in their atmosphere. /eight/

16.Disadvantages

The main disadvantage of the TNRE is the presence of a powerful flux of penetrating radiation (gamma radiation, neutrons), as well as the removal of highly radioactive uranium compounds, refractory compounds with induced radiation, and radioactive gases with a working fluid. In this regard, the TNRD is unacceptable for ground launches in order to avoid deterioration of the environmental situation at the launch site and in the atmosphere. /fourteen/

17. Improving the characteristics of the turbine engine. Hybrid TYRD

Like any rocket engine or any engine in general, a solid-phase nuclear jet engine has significant limitations on the most important characteristics attainable. These limitations represent the inability of the device (TNRD) to operate in the temperature range exceeding the range of maximum operating temperatures of the engine's structural materials. To expand the capabilities and significantly increase the main operating parameters of the TNRE, various hybrid schemes can be applied in which the TNRE plays the role of a source of heat and energy and additional physical methods of accelerating the working bodies are used. The most reliable, practically feasible, and having high characteristics in terms of specific impulse and thrust is a hybrid scheme with an additional MHD circuit (magnetohydrodynamic circuit) for accelerating an ionized working fluid (hydrogen and special additives). /13/

18.Radiation hazard from NRE.

A working NRE is a powerful source of radiation - gamma and neutron radiation. Without taking special measures, radiation can cause unacceptable heating of the working fluid and structure in the spacecraft, embrittlement of metal structural materials, destruction of plastic and aging of rubber parts, violation of insulation of electrical cables, and destruction of electronic equipment. Radiation can cause induced (artificial) radioactivity of materials - their activation.

At present, the problem of radiation protection of spacecraft with nuclear propellant engines is considered, in principle, solved. Also resolved and fundamental issues related to the maintenance of NRE at test benches and launch sites. Although the operating NRE poses a danger to the service personnel, "already a day after the end of the NRE operation, you can, without any personal protective equipment, be for several tens of minutes at a distance of 50 m from the NRE and even approach it. The simplest means of protection allow the service personnel to enter the working area. YARD soon after testing.

The level of contamination of the launching complexes and the environment, apparently, will not be an obstacle to the use of NRE at the lower stages of space rockets. The problem of radiation hazard for the environment and maintenance personnel is largely mitigated by the fact that hydrogen used as a working medium is practically not activated when passing through the reactor. Therefore, the jet stream of the NRE is no more dangerous than the jet of the liquid-propellant engine. / 4 /

Conclusion

When considering the prospects for the development and use of NRE in cosmonautics, one should proceed from the achieved and expected characteristics of various types of NRE, from what they can give to cosmonautics, their application, and, finally, from the presence of a close connection between the problem of NRM with the problem of energy supply in space and with issues of energy development. generally.

As mentioned above, of all possible types of NRE, the most developed are the thermal radioisotope engine and the engine with a solid-phase fission reactor. But if the characteristics of radioisotope NRE do not allow us to hope for their widespread use in astronautics (at least in the near future), then the creation of solid-phase NRE opens up great prospects for astronautics.

For example, an apparatus with an initial mass of 40,000 tons (that is, approximately 10 times greater than that of the largest modern launch vehicles) has been proposed, with 1/10 of this mass being the payload, and 2/3 by nuclear charges ... If you detonate one charge every 3 s, then their supply will be enough for 10 days of continuous operation of the NRM. During this time, the device will accelerate to a speed of 10,000 km / s and in the future, in 130 years, it can reach the star Alpha Centauri.

Nuclear power plants have unique characteristics, which include practically unlimited energy consumption, independence of functioning from the environment, non-susceptibility to external influences (space radiation, meteorite damage, high and low temperatures etc.). However, the maximum power of nuclear radioisotope installations is limited to the order of several hundred watts. This limitation does not exist for nuclear reactor power plants, which predetermines the profitability of their use during long-term flights of heavy spacecraft in near-earth space, during flights to distant planets of the solar system and in other cases.

The advantages of solid-phase and other NRE with fission reactors are most fully revealed in the study of such complex space programs as manned flights to the planets of the solar system (for example, during an expedition to Mars). In this case, an increase in the specific impulse of the RD makes it possible to solve qualitatively new problems. All these problems are greatly alleviated by using a solid-phase NRE with a specific impulse twice that of modern liquid-propellant rocket engines. In this case, it also becomes possible to significantly reduce flight times.

Most likely, in the near future solid-phase NRE will become one of the most widespread RDs. Solid-phase NRM can be used as vehicles for long-distance flights, for example, to planets such as Neptune, Pluto, and even fly out of the Solar System. However, for flights to the stars, NRM based on the principles of fission is not suitable. In this case, promising are NRE or, more precisely, thermonuclear jet engines (TJE) operating on the principle of fusion reactions and photonic jet engines (FRD), in which the sources of impulse are the reaction of annihilation of matter and antimatter. However, most likely humanity will use a different, different from jet, method of travel to travel in interstellar space.

In conclusion, I will give a paraphrase of Einstein's famous phrase - in order to travel to the stars, mankind must come up with something that would be comparable in complexity and perception to a nuclear reactor for a Neanderthal!

LITERATURE

Sources:

1. "Rockets and people. Book 4 Moon Race" -M: Knowledge, 1999.
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3. Pervushin "Battle for the stars. Cosmic confrontation" -M: knowledge, 1998.
4. L. Gilberg "Conquest of the sky" - M: Knowledge, 1994.
5.http: // epizodsspace. ***** / bibl / molodtsov
6. "Engine", "Nuclear engines for spacecraft", No. 5 1999

7. "Engine", "Gas-phase nuclear engines for spacecraft",

No. 6, 1999
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APPLICATION

Main characteristics of solid-phase nuclear jet engines

Manufacturer country	Engine	Thrust in vacuum, kN	Specific impulse, sec		Project work, year
	NERVA / Lox Mixed Cycle