Fifty Years in Science, Thirty Years in Space

摘要

This brochure overviews the technologies developed at Los Alamos NationalLaboratory that have the potential to contribute to the space effort. In the area of power and propulsion, the technologies presented are: (1) nuclear fuel design and fabrication; (2) nuclear heart sources for space mission; (3) nuclear electric systems for space application; (4) safety analysis for nuclear reactor; (5) reactor core design and analysis; (6) advanced electric propulsion for 21st century space exploration; (7) nuclear thermal rocket development; (8) nuclear rocket testing; (9) laser space propulsion; and (10) innovative propulsion concepts. The technologies in the area of medical applications are: (1) multilaser system for space medicine; and (2) exposure to and protection from radiation during space mission. The technologies in the area of diagnostics and testing are: (1) computer codes for radiation transport; (2) laser diagnostics for space propulsion applications; (3) new facility for high-temperature flow testing; and (4) ensuring reliability of materials for space mission. In the area of instrumentation, technologies are: (1) analyzing the chemistry and mineralogy of planets with a single instrument; (2) the Vela satellite program; (3) the ALEXIS satellite project; (4) the shuttle-URA experiment; (5) studying surface composition with a new ion mass spectrometer; (7) gamma-ray and neutron spectrometer for lunar research; (8) mapping the lunar surface with the soft x-ray fluorescence imager; (9) the Army background experiment program; (10) laser-induced breakdown spectroscopy for space missions; and (11) a zero-gravity furnace for processing advanced materials. Partners in defense and partners in industrial competitiveness are also addressed.