Engineering topics
Publications and source records attributed to Belair, Michael.
Presentation on the European Service Module mission description, propulsion subsystem, and propulsion and guidance navigation and control interface requirements. The content focuses on the updates to these areas between Constellation and the Multi-Purpose Crew Vehicle.
Nuclear thermal propulsion has long been considered an enabling technology for human missions to Mars and beyond. One concept of operations for these missions utilizes the nuclear reactor to generate electrical power during coast phases, known as bimodal operation. This presentation focuses on the systems modeling and analysis efforts for a NERVA derived concept. The NERVA bimodal operation derives the thermal energy from the core tie tube elements. Recent analysis has shown potential temperature distributions in the tie tube elements that may limit the thermodynamic efficiency of the closed Brayton cycle used to generate electricity with the current design. The results of this analysis are discussed as well as the potential implications to a bimodal NERVA type reactor.