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

[Howard Long]

"Mars Direct" (Zubrin) has many features that could be combined with this Preisig proposal

Howard Long


On Oct 13, 2012, at 7:16 PM, JPreisig at aol.com wrote:

> 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
> 
> 
> 
> 
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