The minimum-energy transfer between circular orbits is an elliptical trajectory called the Hohmann trajectory, shown here for the Earth-Mars case.

Space Propulsion

Fusion is the only option that potentially achieves the most important regime for Solar-System travel: exhaust velocities of 105 to 106 m/s at thrust-to-weight ratios of 10-3. Such levels of performance allow both fast human transport and efficient cargo transport.

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Publications

23 publications found    » search for others     [linked reports are PDF]

UWFDM-1287    Fusion Space Propulsion-A Shorter Time Frame Than You Think; J.F. Santarius, December 2005 [presented at the 53rd Joint Army-Navy-NASA-Air Force (JANNAF) Propulsion Meeting, Monterey, 5-8 December 2005].

UWFDM-1209    Final Report for Research on Magnetized-Target Fusion for Space Propulsion; John F. Santarius and Mohamed E. Sawan, July 2003.

UWFDM-1130    Field-Reversed Configurations for Space Propulsion; J.F. Santarius, June 2000 [presented at the 31st AIAA Plasmadynamics and Lasers Conference, 19-22 June 2000, Denver CO].

UWFDM-1048    Synchrotron Radiation Fusion Drive for Space Propulsion; J.F. Santarius, G.A. Emmert, H.Y. Khater, E.A. Mogahed, J. Brandenburg, July 1997 [presented at the 33rd AIAA/ASME/SAE/ASEE Joint Propulsion Conference and Exhibit, July 6-9, 1997, Seattle WA].

UWFDM-920    Magnetic Fusion Propulsion: Opening the Solar-System Frontier; J.F. Santarius, July 1993 [Proc. 2nd Wisconsin Symposium on Helium-3 and Fusion Power, 19-21 July 1993, Madison WI, p. 321].

UWFDM-914    Generic Magnetic Fusion Rocket Model; J.F. Santarius and B.G. Logan, April 1993 (revised February 1998) [Prepared for the 29th AIAA/SAE/ASME/ASEE Joint Propulsion Conference, Paper AIAA-93-2029, June 28-30, 1993, Monterey CA].

UWFDM-900    Magnetic Fusion for Space Propulsion: Capabilities and Issues; J.F. Santarius, July 1992 [Proc. of the American Nuclear Society Topical Meeting on Nuclear Technologies for Space Exploration, 16-19 August 1992, Jackson Hole WY, p. 409].

UWFDM-881    Magnetic Fusion for Space Propulsion; J.F. Santarius, March 1992 [Proceedings of the 10th Topical Meeting on the Technology of Fusion Energy, 7-12 June 1992, Boston MA; Fusion Technology 21 (1992) 1794].

UWFDM-875    D-3He Magnetic Fusion for Space Propulsion; J.F. Santarius, January 1992 [presented at the US-USSR Workshop on D-3He Reactor Studies, 25 September - 2 October 1991, Moscow].

UWFDM-852    Space Propulsion by Fusion in a Magnetic Dipole; E. Teller, A.J. Glass, T.K. Fowler, A. Hasegawa, J.F. Santarius, April 1991 [presented at the First International A.D. Sakharov Conference on Physics, Moscow, USSR, 27-31 May 1991. Also published as Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory Report UCRL-JC-106807, and published in Fusion Technology, V. 22, August 1992, pp. 82-97].

UWFDM-764    Lunar He3, Fusion Propulsion, and Space Development; J.F. Santarius, June 1988 (revised August 1988) [Second Conference on Lunar Bases and Space Activities of the 21st Century (NASA Conf. Pub. 3166, Vol. 2 (1992) 459].

WCSAR-TR-AR3-9307-2    Magnetic Fusion Propulsion: Opening the Solar-System Frontier; J.F. Santarius, July 1993 [presented at the 2nd Wisconsin Symposium on Helium-3 and Fusion Power, 19-21 July 1993, Madison WI].

WCSAR-TR-AR3-9304-3    Generic Magnetic Fusion Rocket Model; J.F. Santarius and B.G. Logan, April 1993 [prepared for 29th AIAA/SAE/ASME/ASEE Joint Propulsion Conference, June 28-30, 1993, Monterey CA] [also UWFDM-914].

retrieve PDF    Exploration of Plasma-Jet Magnetized-Target Fusion Burn Dynamics; J.F. Santarius, November 2007 [presented at the APS-DPP Meeting, 12-16 November 2007, Orlando FL].

retrieve PDF    Fusion Space Propulsion-A Shorter Time Frame than You Think; J.F. Santarius, December 2005 [presented at the 53rd Joint Army-Navy-NASA-Air Force (JANNAF) Propulsion Meeting, Monterey, 5-8 December 2005].

retrieve PDF    Plasma-Jet Magnetized-Target Fusion Dynamics and Stability Issues; J.F. Santarius, P.B. Parks, Y.C.F. Thio, November 2004 [presented at the APS Division of Plasma Physics Meeting 17 November 2004, Atlanta GA].

retrieve PDF    Plasma-Jet Magnetized-Target Fusion; J.F. Santarius, May 2004 [presented at the Innovative Confinement Concepts Workshop, Madison, Wisconsin, 25-28 May 2004].

retrieve PDF    Magnetized-Target Fusion; J.F. Santarius, November 4, 2003 [FTI Tuesday meeting].

retrieve PDF    Burn Dynamics of Plasma-Jet Magnetized-Target Fusion; J.F. Santarius, October 2003 [presented at the American Physical Society-Division of Plasma Physics (APS-DPP) Meeting, 27-31 October 2003, Albuquerque NM].

retrieve PDF    Burn Dynamics of Plasma-Jet Magnetized-Target Fusion; John F. Santarius, May 2003 [presented at the Innovative Confinement Concepts Workshop, Seattle WA, 28-30 May 2003].

retrieve PDF    Magnetized-Target Fusion; John F. Santarius, April 15, 2003 [FTI Tuesday meeting].

retrieve PDF    D-3He Magnetic Fusion Space Propulsion; J.F. Santarius, May 2001 [presented at the 20th International Space Development Conference, Albuquerque NM, May 24-28, 2001].

retrieve PDF    Fusion Space Propulsion Using Field-Reversed Configurations; J.F. Santarius, April 2001 [presented at the NASA-JPL/MSFC/AIAA Twelfth Annual Advanced Space Propulsion Workshop, University of Alabama-Huntsville, April 3-5, 2001].