NUCLEAR POWER FEASIBILITY FOR NEAR TERM COMMERCIAL APPLICATIONS ON THE LUNAR SURFACE

ADVANCED COMMERCIAL LUNAR PAYLOADS, SCHEDULED FOR LUNAR LANDING LATER THIS DECADE, REQUIRE A SOURCE OF ELECTRIC POWER THAT CAN PROVIDE CONTINUOUS POWER AT 3 TO 40 KILOWATTS INITIALLY, WITH UPGRADES TO OVER 100KW. THE POWER SYSTEM MUST BE ENVIRONMENTALLY SAFE AND REASONABLY PRICED. SUCH AN INTEGRATED POWER SYSTEM DOES NOT YET EXIST FOR LUNAR SURFACE PAYLOADS WHICH EXPERIENCE 14 DAYS OF DARKNESS AT A TEMPERATURE OF -157 DEGREES CENTIGRADE. HOWEVER, MANY BUILDING BLOCK SUBSYSTEMS, PARTICULARLY NUCLEAR (FROM WHICH AN INTEGRATED SYSTEM COULD BE CONSTRUCTED) DO EXIST. THE PLANNED PHASE I STUDY WILL IDENTIFY NEW SUBSYSTEM REQUIREMENTS, CONFIRM FEASIBILITY, AND QUICKLY INTEGRATE SELECTED SUBSYSTEMS TO MEET NEAR TERM COMMERCIAL CUSTOMER NEEDS. RESULTS WILL INCLUDE CONCEPTUAL HARDWARE DESIGNS, OPERATIONS CONCEPTS, AND COMMERCIAL FINANCING ASSESSMENT OF SOLUTIONS TO THE FOLLOWING KEY TECHNICAL PROBLEMS: HEAT REJECTION DURING LUNAR DAY AND NIGHT, SITE SURVEY AND SELECTION TO AVOID RADIATION SUSCEPTIBLE SOILS, SITE PREPARATION FOR REACTOR EMPLACEMENT, PHYSICAL DEPLOYMENT OF A REACTOR BY ROBOTIC MEANS, MANUFACTURE OF RADIATION SHIELDING IN-PLACE, THERMAL COUPLING OF RADIATION SHIELDING WITH THE REACTOR AND SURROUNDING SOIL, RADIATION SHIELDING COMPATIBLE WITH IN-PLACE CHANGES TO HEAT EXCHANGER CONNECTIONS TO ALLOW UPGRADE FROM DIRECT ELECTRIC TO STIRLING CYCLE, AND POWER TRANSMISSION METHODS TO FIXED AND MOBILE COMMERCIAL INSTRUMENTS.