Using a nuclear rocket to support a lunar outpost: Is it cost effective

The current NASA plan to return humans to the Moon by 2018 relies on the construction of several new vehicles- the Crew Exploration Vehicle (CEV), the Crew Launch Vehicle, the Lunar Surface Access Module (LSAM), the Earth Departure Stage (EDS), and the Cargo Launch Vehicle (CaLV). Of these, the CaLV is the largest as it is required to loft around 125 mT to LEO for the mission. Once in orbit, the EDS will transfer the LSAM and CEV toward the Moon where the LSAM will be used to achieve orbit and then lunar decent. During a twelve week period in the summer of 2006, The Center for Space Nuclear Research hosted thirteen university students as part of the CSNR Summer Fellowship program. Part of the program focused on the use of a nuclear thermal rocket (NTR) as a physical replacement for the EDS stage in the CaLV stack. The results show that significant reduction in Initial Mass in Leo Earth Orbit (IMLEO) can result from the use of the NTR- perhaps necessitating a smaller CaLV capability and lower development cost. Alternatively, substantially more mass can be put on the Lunar surface for a given IMLEO if the NTR is used. Results of the comparative study between the chemicall- propelled EDS and the NTR-EDS for supporting a Lunar Base will be presented.