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Antimatter requirements and energy costs for near-term propulsion applications
| Content Provider | NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS) |
|---|---|
| Author | Smith, G. A. Schmidt, G. R. Meyer, K. J. Gerrish, H. P. Martin, J. J. |
| Copyright Year | 1999 |
| Description | The superior energy density of antimatter annihilation has often been pointed to as the ultimate source of energy for propulsion. However, the limited capacity and very low efficiency of present-day antiproton production methods suggest that antimatter may be too costly to consider for near-term propulsion applications. We address this issue by assessing the antimatter requirements for six different types of propulsion concepts, including two in which antiprotons are used to drive energy release from combined fission/fusion. These requirements are compared against the capacity of both the current antimatter production infrastructure and the improved capabilities that could exist within the early part of next century. Results show that although it may be impractical to consider systems that rely on antimatter as the sole source of propulsive energy, the requirements for propulsion based on antimatter-assisted fission/fusion do fall within projected near-term production capabilities. In fact, a new facility designed solely for antiproton production but based on existing technology could feasibly support interstellar precursor missions and omniplanetary spaceflight with antimatter costs ranging up to $6.4 million per mission. |
| File Size | 1000965 |
| Page Count | 23 |
| File Format | |
| Alternate Webpage(s) | http://archive.org/details/NASA_NTRS_Archive_19990110316 |
| Archival Resource Key | ark:/13960/t48q0zd2j |
| Language | English |
| Publisher Date | 1999-01-01 |
| Access Restriction | Open |
| Subject Keyword | Spacecraft Propulsion And Power Annihilation Reactions Costs Antimatter Flux Density Production Engineering Propulsion Antiprotons Space Flight Energy Requirements Fission Ntrs Nasa Technical Reports Server (ntrs) Nasa Technical Reports Server Aerodynamics Aircraft Aerospace Engineering Aerospace Aeronautic Space Science |
| Content Type | Text |
| Resource Type | Article |
