Conceptual Design of In-Space Vehicles for Human Exploration of the Outer Planets

During fiscal year 2002, a team of engineers from TD30/Advanced Concepts and TD40/Propulsion Research Center embarked on a study of potential crewed missions to the outer solar system. This study was conducted under the auspices of the Revolutionary Aerospace Systems Concepts activity administered by Langley Research Center (LaRC). The Marshall Space Flight Center (MSFC) team interacted heavily with teams from other Centers, including Glenn Research Center, LaRC, Jet Propulsion Laboratory, and Johnson Space Center. The MSFC team generated five concept missions for this project. The concept missions use a variety of technologies, including magnetized target fusion (MTF), magnetoplasmadynamic thrusters, solid core reactors, and molten salt reactors in various combinations. This Technical Publication (TP) reviews these five concepts and the methods used to generate them. The analytical methods used are described for all significant disciplines and subsystems. The propulsion and power technologies selected for each vehicle are reviewed in detail. The MSFC team also expended considerable effort refining the MTF concept for use with this mission. The results from this effort are also contained within this TP. Finally, the lessons learned from this activity are summarized in the conclusions section.