[ RadSafe ] Highly Enriched Fuel --- Mission to Mars

[JPreisig at aol.com]

Dear Radsafe,
 
      Hope you all are well.  One could  chemically propel (using a rocket) 
a Mars space vehicle up
to the International Space Station.  Then one could make multiple  
(Spacex???) flights to the ISS
carrying bundles of highly-enriched Uranium or Plutonium fuel.  The  
highly-enriched fuel could then
be loaded into the Mars Space Vehicle, the propulsion system could be  
tested and the flight to 
Mars could eventually begin.  The Mars Space vehicle could have a  reactor 
or perhaps it
might be a chemical/nuclear hybrid.. 
 
     Once the Space Vehicle arrives at Mars, the Mars  lander (chemically 
propelled like the
Lunar Landers) could be used to reach the surface of Mars.  The Mars  
surface mission could then be
completed.  The lander could then be restarted (in the same manner as  was 
done on the trip to the Moon???) and the astronauts could be returned to the 
 Mars Space Vehicle.  The crew could then
return to the ISS and the Mars Space Vehicle could be tethered to the  ISS. 
 The Mars crew could
then return to Earth via Spacex rocket/spacecraft.  Mission  done.  Why 
not???
 
    On a related topic the AVRO flying saucer from the  1950's is real 
interesting; you can find 
youtube videos of it on the internet, as well as videos of  
remote-controlled flying saucers toy
enthusiasts fly.  Nowadays, one could build a chemically propelled  flying 
saucer with 4 to 10
jet-engine thrust units.  One could install a set of Ring Laser Gyros  
(RLG's...See Kearfott's
website or Wikipedia) and accelerometers for Navigation, Guidance and  
Control.  The new Flying
saucer could also have GPS.  A Kalman Filter or Kalman Filters could  also 
be added for use in
Navigation, Guidance and Control.  Since the AVRO Flying Saucer was  built 
in the 1950's, it
wouldn't have Kalman Filtering, RLG's, GPS and so on.  Lasers for  RLG's 
were invented in the 1960's.
GPS has been around a while.  Kalman Filters also date from the 1960's  --- 
see books by Gelb,
R. Grover Brown, J.V. Candy, Jazwinski and so on.  They are used in  
aircraft and rocket control, guidance
and navigation.
 
     RLG's are used for modern guidance, control and  navigation because 
they can keep
up with modern jet/rocket high velocities and accelerations, which older  
mechanical inertial
guidance units cannot do.
 
    I guess a modern AVRO flying saucer could have jet  propulsion for use 
in the Earth's
atmosphere.  I guess for Space travel, an AVRO flying saucer would  have 
chemical??? thrusters.
 
   Guess Team USA will have a new president soon.  Will  Yucca Mountain go 
forward???
Which president is a space travel enthusiast????
 
    Regards,    Joseph R. (Joe) Preisig