Approach to space reactor system selection and design

The rudiments of a methodology to select design concepts for high performance, compact space reactors is developed. This methodology starts with defining a set of requirements to be used as a basis for the design decision. Technology options are then delineated. These must be carefully defined so that the options give a true measure for comparison. Only those options that meet or exceed all requirements are to be used in the next phase of the selection process. Here, a systematic approach to making a decision, such as multi-attribute decision theory, is used. This forces one to decide the relative importance of various requirements and to evaluate how well each concept meets the requirements. The output should be used as a guide for determining the final rankings. Finally, since the projected mission requirements tend to be generic, the sensitivity of these rankings to changes in mission requirements should be evaluated