Liquid Metal Versus Gas Cooled Reactor Concepts for a Turbo Electric Powered Space Vehicle

摘要

Recent CNES/CEA prospective studies of an orbit transfer vehicle to be launched by ARIANE V, emphasize the advantage of the Brayton cycle over the thermionics and thermoelectricity, in minimizing the total mass of 100 to 300 kWsub(e) power systems under the constraint specific to ARIANE of a radiator area limited to 95 m exp 2 . The review of candidate reactor concepts for this application, finally recommends both liquid metal and gas cooled reactors, for their satisfactory adaptation to a reference Brayton cycle and for the available experience from the terrestrial operation of comparable systems. (ERA citation 11:008775)