Discovery's engines, 700 feet behind the pressure sphere bearing the crew. Image credit: Turner Entertainment/Metro Goldwyn Mayer |
Like so many advanced concepts, NASA LeRC gas-core propulsion never got the conceptual artwork it deserved - until now. This illustration, kindly provided by artist William Black/http://william-black.deviantart.com/, is based on a crude line drawing that appears in early 1970s NASA LeRC gas-core propulsion reports. It shows the 80-day "courier" spacecraft early in its Earth-departure burn. The NASA LeRC line drawing indicated a need for radiator fins, but did not show their shape or extent; Black has made them resemble the "V"-shaped radiator configuration of the dragonfly Discovery in the novel 2001. Doing so places them within the conical radiation shadow created by the shield at the front of the gas-core engine (see image below) so that they do not reflect radiation toward the crew. Please click on image to enlarge. |
Closeup of an open-cycle gas-core nuclear-thermal rocket engine based on NASA LeRC design concepts as envisioned by artist William Black/http://william-black.deviantart.com/. The large disc at left is a shadow shield for protecting the spacecraft crew from radiation from the engine. The cage-like truss structure surrounds the uranium storage and feed system and tungsten particle feed, hydrogen feed, and coolant circulation lines. Liquid hydrogen cools the silver part of the engine bell, becoming a hot gas; it then drives turbopumps (colored gold) that pump hydrogen into the spherical gas-core engine chamber. In Black's interpretation, turbobump hydrogen gas then vents aft into space through a pair of pipes. He also includes a gimbal system for pivoting the engine off its center line and an uncooled rocket nozzle extension (colored black). |