Project FOOF - Declassified!
Posted: Mon Apr 12, 2010 4:23 pm
"Fusion On Orbit Fastest" - Project FOOF
If polywell and pB11 pan out I've been considering the best methods to implement a polywell-powered spacecraft as quickly and as economically as is feasible. I believe that research enabling the quick application of such systems in space is important to overall fusion research and development.
And while I, like many others, want to get in my spaceship parked in my back yard and fly straight to Mars without any stops along the way... it would seem to be a good idea to build some less ambitious intermediate types of spacecraft first
Here I'll postulate that one way to Fusion On Orbit Fastest is to use current launch vehicles to loft a prototype fusion power supply for a small commercial space station.
As of spring 2010 the phrase "small commercial space station" is practically synonymous with a Bigelow Aerospace inflatable "Sundancer" module and it seems that one or more of these 8.7 meter by 6.3 meter pods would be a good match for hosting a prototype space-based polywell with net power in the 100 megawatt range... a spaceborne WBD. Call it a WBD-S.
A standard Sundancer has 180 cubic meters of pressurized volume and includes basic life support. It can have a Russian-style docking adapter on one end and one of the new American LIDS adapters on the other end. It can support its own solar power arrays and can be fitted with airlock nodes and a variety of propulsion modules.
Thus the module should be able to hold the technicians and their monitoring gear in pressurized comfort. I'd think that two such modules or a 14 meter long "BA-330" should hold all the crew and facilities that would be needed for an extended testing regime.
A crew return vehicle, most likely a Spacex Dragon capsule, would remain docked at the station while the testing of the prototype was underway.
The WBD-S reactor module would be mounted behind a shadow shield and, if needed, at a distance from the station on an inflatable truss The dimensions of the shield and truss being based on what seems prudent for testing.
The most difficult part of the station will be the module holding the reactor. If even a breakeven polywell setup has a minimum diameter of 7-8 meters then there will be no launch vehicle capable of lofting an assembled reactor into LEO... much less the research and testing module such a reactor would need to be nested in.
And understand this: assembly in microgravity is hard. Assembly in microgravity in vacuum is damned hard. Assembly in microgravity in vacuum in a spacesuit is a royal pain in the ass. After the harsh lessons learned from the construction of the ISS anyone who plans on even more intricate assembly work on orbit needs to be aware that such a project is simply not going to happen.
(At least not until after they finish developing skinsuits)
But Bigelow has offered to make custom modules to order and so I hope it would be possible to wrap the parts of the WBD-S in such a custom module and then to assemble the station on orbit and inflate the module. Then the wBD-S would be assembled inside the module and the module depressurized as needed for testing.
Given the probable testing regime pumps to scavenge some air back during each depress would probably pay for their own development in replacement air mass lifted to LEO.
That's a basic outline. I'd like to flesh it in as more data on polywell infrastructure needs becomes available and I've further notions on selling the power the WBD-S generates while operating to various experiments also hosted on board the station....
If polywell and pB11 pan out I've been considering the best methods to implement a polywell-powered spacecraft as quickly and as economically as is feasible. I believe that research enabling the quick application of such systems in space is important to overall fusion research and development.
And while I, like many others, want to get in my spaceship parked in my back yard and fly straight to Mars without any stops along the way... it would seem to be a good idea to build some less ambitious intermediate types of spacecraft first
Here I'll postulate that one way to Fusion On Orbit Fastest is to use current launch vehicles to loft a prototype fusion power supply for a small commercial space station.
As of spring 2010 the phrase "small commercial space station" is practically synonymous with a Bigelow Aerospace inflatable "Sundancer" module and it seems that one or more of these 8.7 meter by 6.3 meter pods would be a good match for hosting a prototype space-based polywell with net power in the 100 megawatt range... a spaceborne WBD. Call it a WBD-S.
A standard Sundancer has 180 cubic meters of pressurized volume and includes basic life support. It can have a Russian-style docking adapter on one end and one of the new American LIDS adapters on the other end. It can support its own solar power arrays and can be fitted with airlock nodes and a variety of propulsion modules.
Thus the module should be able to hold the technicians and their monitoring gear in pressurized comfort. I'd think that two such modules or a 14 meter long "BA-330" should hold all the crew and facilities that would be needed for an extended testing regime.
A crew return vehicle, most likely a Spacex Dragon capsule, would remain docked at the station while the testing of the prototype was underway.
The WBD-S reactor module would be mounted behind a shadow shield and, if needed, at a distance from the station on an inflatable truss The dimensions of the shield and truss being based on what seems prudent for testing.
The most difficult part of the station will be the module holding the reactor. If even a breakeven polywell setup has a minimum diameter of 7-8 meters then there will be no launch vehicle capable of lofting an assembled reactor into LEO... much less the research and testing module such a reactor would need to be nested in.
And understand this: assembly in microgravity is hard. Assembly in microgravity in vacuum is damned hard. Assembly in microgravity in vacuum in a spacesuit is a royal pain in the ass. After the harsh lessons learned from the construction of the ISS anyone who plans on even more intricate assembly work on orbit needs to be aware that such a project is simply not going to happen.
(At least not until after they finish developing skinsuits)
But Bigelow has offered to make custom modules to order and so I hope it would be possible to wrap the parts of the WBD-S in such a custom module and then to assemble the station on orbit and inflate the module. Then the wBD-S would be assembled inside the module and the module depressurized as needed for testing.
Given the probable testing regime pumps to scavenge some air back during each depress would probably pay for their own development in replacement air mass lifted to LEO.
That's a basic outline. I'd like to flesh it in as more data on polywell infrastructure needs becomes available and I've further notions on selling the power the WBD-S generates while operating to various experiments also hosted on board the station....