Engineering of the Magnetized Target Fusion Propulsion System

Engineering details are presented for a magnetized target fusion (MTF) propulsion system designed to support crewed missions to the outer solar system. Basic operation of an MTF propulsion system is introduced. Structural, thermal, radi ation -management and electrical design details are presented. The propellant storage and supply system design is also presented. A propulsion system mass estimate and associated performance figures are given. The advantages of helium -3 as a fusion fuel for an advanced MTF system are discussed. 1 . The MTF technique offers the promise of both high specific impulse and low dry mass; as such it is well suited to the demands of high delta -v travel to the outer solar system, including human exploration missions. The work reported in this paper was carried out wi thin the Human Outer Planet Exploration (HOPE) study, part of the Revolutionary Aerospace Concepts (RASC) program. The HOPE objective was to design a vehicle capable of conducting a human exploration mission of the Jovian moon Callisto. The MTF propulsion system design, as reported here, was developed to satisfy the requirements of this mission. Details of the mission and vehicle are reported separately 2 . Additionally this work has been extensively documented in a NASA technical paper 3 . This paper is organ ized as follows. First a brief overview is presented, addressing the basic processes involved in MTF operation. For the purposes of this description, the main fusion fuel is assumed to be deuterium. The subsequent sections are devoted to engineering descri ptions of the major MTF components. The propellant storage and supply system is presented, following which overall mass estimate and performance summary are given. Finally, the more advanced MTF system, using a mixture of deuterium and helium -3 as the mai n fusion fuel, is introduced.