5-3. NERVA-Derivative Reactor Technology— A National Asset for Diverse Space Power Applications J. F. WETT, J. W. H. CHI & J. M. LIVINGSTON Introduction The NERVA-Rover programs, undertaken primarily in the 1960s, were aimed at the development of a nuclear thermal propulsion reactor and rocket engine. Following those programs, fuel bead technology development continued for commercial advanced gas cooled reactors. The reactor technology developed in NERVA-Rover and the fuel bead technology developed post NERVA were adopted in the NERVA-Derivative Reactor (NDR) for the DOE/SDIO Multimegawatt (MMW) Space Reactor Project. A conceptual design of an NDR was developed to produce tens of MWe of burst power for SDI applications. The NDR was designed to meet the MMW Project functional and operational requirements and a set of ambitious goals. The key design goals are: adopt proven, demonstrated NERVA-Rover technologies, use state-of-the- art fuel and materials, exceed the space nuclear safety requirements, minimize the critical mass, and minimize the use of toxic materials. These requirements and design goals were met in the baseline NDR. The basic characteristics of the NDR and the significant design, performance, and operating margins achieved provide a highly flexible reactor that has the capability for diverse space power applications in addition to burst power. This paper presents a description of the NDR and the space power systems for a wide range of applications and space missions. An NDR development program is proposed, focusing on the reactor ground test. A single test facility to carry out a sequence of well planned tests will provide the critical information needed at minimum cost. Description of the NDR The NDR is illustrated in Fig. 1. It is a zirconium hydride (ZrH) and graphitemoderated reactor, similar to Pewee which was tested late in the Rover program (Reference [1]). With ZrH moderation, the NDR has a low critical mass, 9 kg. This may be compared with 275 kg for an all-graphite moderated NDR designed to the same specifications. J. F. Wett, J. W. H. Chi and J. M. Livingston, Westinghouse Electric Corporation, Advanced Energy Systems Department, Madison, PA 15663, USA. Paper number IAF-ICOSP89-5-3.
RkJQdWJsaXNoZXIy MTU5NjU0Mg==