Deuterium-Tritium Pulse Propulsion with Hydrogen as Propellant and the Entire Spacecraft as a Gigavolt Capacitor for Ignition

TL;DR

This paper proposes a novel deuterium-tritium pulse propulsion system that uses the entire spacecraft as a gigavolt capacitor for ignition, enabling efficient interplanetary travel without large radiators.

Contribution

It introduces a new concept combining nuclear micro-explosions within a hydrogen sphere and the spacecraft acting as a gigavolt capacitor for ignition, advancing propulsion technology.

Findings

The micro-explosion heats hydrogen to a fully ionized plasma.

The spacecraft functions as a magnetically insulated gigavolt capacitor.

Potential for fast interplanetary transport without large radiators.

Abstract

A deuterium-tritium (DT) nuclear pulse propulsion concept for fast interplanetary transport is proposed utilizing almost all the energy for thrust and without the need for a large radiator: 1. By letting the thermonuclear micro-explosion take place in the center of a liquid hydrogen sphere with the radius of the sphere large enough to slow down and absorb the neutrons of the DT fusion reaction, heating the hydrogen to a fully ionized plasma at a temperature of ~ 105 K. 2. By using the entire spacecraft as a magnetically insulated gigavolt capacitor, igniting the DT micro-explosion with an intense GeV ion beam discharging the gigavolt capacitor, possible if the space craft has the topology of a torus.