Experimental Approach to Fission Fragment Propulsion System for Deep Space Exploration

We introduce our recent development in nuclear-powered rocket technology, specifically employing fission fragments as the fuel source. The pursuit of alternative propulsion technologies beyond traditional chemical fuels has spurred numerous breakthroughs in the field of space exploration, including electric, solar, and nuclear propulsion systems, each with its distinct advantages and drawbacks. Among these, nuclear rocket propulsion stands out for its potential to offer superior thrust and efficiency when compared to conventional chemical rockets. Our primary focus revolves around enhancing proposed nuclear rocket designs and empirically assessing their operational efficiency through both experimentation and simulations.

In our research, we employ Th-232 as the source of alpha particles, serving as a surrogate for fission fragments. This source is situated within a cylindrical vacuum chamber, maintained within a robust magnetic field of 3 Tesla, effectively constraining the flight paths of emitted alpha particles. We present the outcomes of our experiments and simulations, affirming the successful magnetic confinement of alpha particle trajectories within ultra-high magnetic fields. Additionally, we introduce our innovative system and design, specially to detect alpha particles under these extreme magnetic conditions.