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Defense Intelligence Reference Document Positron Aerospace Propulsion

Defense Intelligence Agency · 35 pages · text from the file's own layer

This unclassified Defense Intelligence Reference Document from the Defense Intelligence Agency is dated 2 March 2010. It was produced in FY 2009 under the Advanced Aerospace Weapon System Applications (AAWSA) Program. The report reviews work on using positrons as aerospace fuel. It covers air-breathing turbojet and ramjet engines, unmanned aircraft, missiles, single-stage reusable vehicles, positron rockets and a crewed Mars mission, along with how positrons could be produced and stored. It concludes that a first positron-powered flight around the globe could be possible within 10 years.

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“Masse”17 pages

  • p. 3 …Positron Mass .................................................................. 5 Figure 7. LOCAAS Turbojet Engine ......................................................................... 6 iii UNCLASSIFIED//F81it 8FFIIIAI!: 1!181! &••1…
  • p. 4 …Total Positron Requirement for SSRV With a Dry Mass of 60,500 kg ....... 10 Table 4…
  • p. 6 …Hence, when Ps self-annihilates, there is 100 percent conversion of mass into electromagnetic energy given…
  • p. 7 …5 At sea level for a fuel-air mass ratio of 0.068, it is 500…
  • p. 10 …1.00 Positron Mass (mg) ./V 1.50 Figure 6. UAV Range Versus Positron Mass (courtesy…
  • p. 12 …nonstop flights are possible. • Increase in structural mass allows more electronics/passenger amenities. RAMJET-ASSISTED MISSILE…
  • p. 13 …Improving payload mass requires reducing propellant and structural mass, both of which can be accomplished using…
  • p. 14 …GLOW for Chemical SSRV21 Vehicle Component Structure Thermal Protection Propulsion (4 engines) Electronics TOTAL DRY MASS…
  • p. 15 …24 The positron mass budget for a 60,500-kg dry mass for ascension to LEO…
  • p. 17 …First, a reduction in the engine mass for a given thrust is realized; second, there is…
  • p. 19 …lead-cartridge concepts show promise if the mass flow rate of the hydrogen propellant exceeds that…
  • p. 20 …flow-through system with LH2 at higher mass flow rates than LXe; and (d) One-fluid…
  • p. 21 …A separate Brayton-cycle positron energy conversion system provides power to the pellet mass driver and…
  • p. 22 …Comparison of Three Positron Propulsion Concepts for Mars Mission lsp Thrust e+ mass Special Notes Solid…
  • p. 24 …On board propellant requires an overall interplanetary system mass that prohibits use of any type of…
  • p. 25 …This gives significant mass savings or an equivalent reduction in Mars-to-Earth return time for…
  • p. 26 …Mars reference mission 53 , 54 considered payload masses of 60,000 kg for 2015 missions. This…
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THE SANGER PHOTON POSITRON ROCKET
In 1953, German engineer Eugen Sanger proposed the photon rocket. One means of
providing thrust was to shower a parabolic mirror with positron annihilation gamma
rays.37 Unfortunately, there are no materials that reflect gamma rays at large angles.
A schematic of a modified Sanger photon rocket is shown in Figure 13. Psis emitted in
'pellets' from several storage banks located behind the engine. Positrons are
programmed by supporting fields to annihilate in front of a stiffened pressure plate, the
shape of which was assumed to be parabolic for this work. 38
To make the Sanger photon rocket practical, solid propellant that can be ablated from
the plate is added. Gamma rays deposit energy on the surface of the ablation material
and jettison high-energy particles with large lsp. As the solid material recedes from the
target, the location of the positron annihilation can be correspondingly moved inward to
preserve focal properties of the system. A thickness of a few meters of material is
sufficient for a planetary mission.
PAYLOAD
PEC SYSTEM
(OPTIONAL)
e+ TRAP BANKS
SOLID ABLATION
MATERIAL
Figure 13. Modified Sanger Photon Rocket Concept (courtesy Positronics Research LLC) 39
The predicted lsp for this system results in fast transit times to Mars, warranting a
positron power plant. Unlike the solid-core or gas-core concepts, there are no means to
draw off some of the ablated material to provide power. A separate Brayton-cycle
positron energy conversion system provides power to the pellet mass driver and other
16
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Report, from the dia collection. The PDF is mirrored here; the original link is under it. 35 pages are in the text index: search them above, or from the library's search.