S and H Cycle Engine

Our thirst for energy is increasing at an astounding rate. World population growth is estimated to increase by 40% (to 8.5 billion) by 2050, with annual electrical energy usage estimated increase by 100% (to 25 terawatt-hours). We must find new means and fuels as well as significantly improve the efficiency of current power plants to accommodate this growing electrical energy demand. This demand is also growing in the field of space flight. Present energy and propulsion systems are limited in the amount of power (energy) that can be generated by today's technology. This limits the distance that can be safely traveled by manned and un-manned space systems. Space flight is primarily governed by two factors: time and energy. Increasing energy of space propulsion systems will decrease flight time or allow reaching farther out into space safely for manned exploration of our solar system. For example, a round trip manned mission to Mars would take about 400 days with a NERVA type thermal nuclear rocket. To reduce the 400 days to 80 days would require an increase of energy by a factor of five. We need to develop space propulsion systems with much greater energy capability than we have today to satisfy the expansion of space exploration. The S and H Cycle nuclear engine provides a revolutionary technological approach that can contribute significantly toward solving the World electrical energy and the space travel energy requirements. (authors)