Documents / Report

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.

  • p. 5 …This paper is an anthology of that work and not a general review of antimatter propulsion…
  • p. 7 …Because of the aforementioned performance bounds of combustion engines, the aeronautic industry has worked diligently to…
  • p. 13 …Defense, NASA, and the aerospace industry are working to eliminate multistage rockets for access to low…
  • p. 16 …28 In a solid-core positron rocket, positrons heat a hydrogen working fluid through an attenuating…
  • p. 18 …heated H: • Propellant-heated He • Working fluids for power • Working fluids for power systems - inert gas…
  • p. 21 …was assumed to be parabolic for this work. 38 To make the Sanger photon rocket practical…
  • p. 22 …be possible • Hot-bleed line possible Future work • Efficiency study Gas-Core Sanger Ablation 1000 - 2500…
  • p. 23 …consumption does not dominate rocket positron consumption. ◄ Work 5 Rf'!gf'l'M'rllto.- JC~ ~ 4…
  • p. 31 …What lifetimes might be expected working Figure 22. TEM of Silica Aerogel (courtesy with this material…
UNCLASSIFIED/;«F&A 8FFHil.l1k WE&i a••k>/
Contents
Introduction ............................................................................................................v
Antimatter .............................................................................................................. 1
Positron Air-Breathing Propulsion .......................................................................... 2
PTRE Applications .................................................................................................. 5
Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV) ......................................................................... 5
Ramjet-Assisted Missile (RAM) .......................................................................... 7
Single-Stage Reusable Vehicle (SSRV) ............................................................... 8
Positron-Powered Rockets ................................................................................... 11
The Solid-Core Positron Rocket ........................................................................ 12
The Gas-Core Positron Rocket .......................................................................... 14
The Sanger Photon Positron Rocket ................................................................. 16
Positron Rocket System Comparison ................................................................ 17
Positron Energy Conversion for Onboard Power ............................................... 18
Positrons for a Manned Mars Mission ................................................................... 19
Positron Production .............................................................................................. 22
Positron Costs ...................................................................................................... 23
Positron Storage .................................................................................................. 24
Formation of Positronium in Porous Media ....................................................... 25
Long-Term Storage of Positronium .................................................................. 25
Conclusions .......................................................................................................... 27
Figures
Figure 1. Specific Energy for Chemical, Nuclear and Antimatter Materials ............. 1
Figure 2. Tory-IIC Ready for Testing ...................................................................... 3
Figure 3. PTRE Turbojet and Turbo-Ramjet Modes ................................................. 3
Figure 4. Details of the PTRE Engine ...................................................................... 4
Figure 5. Combustion Turbo-Ramjet ....................................................................... 4
Figure 6. UAV Range vs. Positron Mass .................................................................. 5
Figure 7. LOCAAS Turbojet Engine ......................................................................... 6
iii
UNCLASSIFIED//F81it 8FFIIIAI!: 1!181! &••1::Y

Not linked to a story yet.

About this file

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.