Project Icarus: Pellet Injection System for the Pegasus Spacecraft Concept Design

Kelvin F. Long, Michel Lamontagne

jbis-078-06-0206

DOI https://doi.org/10.59332/jbis-078-06-0206

The Pegasus spacecraft design is an interstellar vehicle driven by inertial confinement fusion and a large array of laser beams. Since the pellet detonation rate is high, it is useful to identify different ways of injecting the pellets into the target chamber in a rapid time. In this paper we review the Daedalus magnetic wave method. We then discuss two additional methods of pellet injection into the target chamber. This includes the application of an array of hydrogen gas guns that rotate around the propellant tanks, and a spinning wing method. It is concluded that the original method proposed by the Daedalus team may be preferred but it comes with the penalty of a high injection velocity. This paper is a final contribution to Project Icarus.

Keywords: Interstellar Studies, Fusion Propulsion, Pegasus, Project Icarus