Documents / Report
This Defense Intelligence Agency reference document, dated 1 November 2010, is one of a series of advanced technology reports produced in FY 2010 under the Advanced Aerospace Weapons System Applications (AAWSA) Program. It covers fusion plasma physics, confinement methods, and propulsion concepts that use aneutronic fuels such as hydrogen and boron-11. It concludes that such thrusters may soon replace satellite ion thrusters. It also finds that they will not be practical beyond the solar system without breakthrough propulsion physics.
“BEAMS”17 pages
UNCLASSIFIED//F81il 8FFI1il.t.k Wfili 8Hklf Chapter 7: Conclusions Much of the groundwork (literally) for aneutronic fusion propulsion has been accomplished, including conducting fusion experiments, development of design concepts, and the analysis of applications to aerospace propulsion. Transitioning these concepts to space is an immense challenge given the large mass, power requirements, and support engineering for power conversion, energy recovery, and fuel storage. This transition, however, may depend upon the success of the developments of privately funded ventures attempting to develop terrestrial power. Notwithstanding such developments, their application for both military and space or near-space applications requires a much lower threshold for return on investment than terrestrial power. Pulsed-powered DPF or IEC aneutronic fusion thrusters may have near-term applications to replace current satellite ion thrusters. This could be extended to the very high-power domain of beam-assisted FRC for manned interplanetary flight. The near- space domain will require major improvements in technology to reduce system mass since the size enters the MW range. The application to the aircraft domain will require further developments in technology to reduce system mass and/or the use of DT fuels, which present other potential safety issues. Aneutronic fusion propulsion will not be practical beyond the solar system unless breakthrough propulsion physics is developed that can assist the flight to the next stellar system where fusion thrusters can then be used. Whether it is reducing rows and rows of capacitor banks to pulse generators, shrinking immense superconducting magnets to a more compact and lightweight geometry, or engineering integrated fusion propulsion systems to fit onto a booster rocket, the physicists who pioneered much of the reactor and propulsion technology must now work side-by-side with the space systems companies to explore viable propulsion systems from implementation to on-orbit maintenance and attitude control. The future needs to be focused more on science and engineering and less on science fiction. 30 UNCLASSIFIED/ 11"9" 91"1"!e!llit tl!9I!! 9HLY
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Report, from the dia collection. The PDF is mirrored here; the original link is under it. 36 pages are in the text index: search them above, or from the library's search.