Anthony Zuppero
Encyclopedia
Anthony Zuppero is an American nuclear scientist who is noted for his work in nuclear thermal rocket
s using water as the propellant.
Early in his career he worked on nuclear weapon
ry, including one proposal to try to move a 1 gigatonne nuclear bomb to Russia
in under two minutes, which he was able to show was impractical. "Just before he left the Idaho National Engineering and Environmental Laboratory, Department of Energy, where he worked from 1991 through 1998, he was the (de-facto) Principal Investigator, Nuclear Space Transport Systems."
Zuppero has proposed nuclear and solar power
ed steam-propelled spacecraft
He has proposed such vehicles as a means to carry ice and water around the solar system, rather than take the more energy- and equipment-intensive route of extracting the hydrogen
and oxygen
. His calculations suggest that this needs two orders of magnitude less equipment, and generates propellant at a far faster rate. Working with Geoffrey Landis, he proposed mining water from the Martian
moons Deimos
and Phobos
, showing that there was an optimum specific impulse
for doing so, and later proposed similar techniques to utilize water from Near Earth Asteroid
s, and from the moon.
Nuclear thermal rocket
In a nuclear thermal rocket a working fluid, usually liquid hydrogen, is heated to a high temperature in a nuclear reactor, and then expands through a rocket nozzle to create thrust. In this kind of thermal rocket, the nuclear reactor's energy replaces the chemical energy of the propellant's...
s using water as the propellant.
Early in his career he worked on nuclear weapon
Nuclear weapon
A nuclear weapon is an explosive device that derives its destructive force from nuclear reactions, either fission or a combination of fission and fusion. Both reactions release vast quantities of energy from relatively small amounts of matter. The first fission bomb test released the same amount...
ry, including one proposal to try to move a 1 gigatonne nuclear bomb to Russia
Russia
Russia or , officially known as both Russia and the Russian Federation , is a country in northern Eurasia. It is a federal semi-presidential republic, comprising 83 federal subjects...
in under two minutes, which he was able to show was impractical. "Just before he left the Idaho National Engineering and Environmental Laboratory, Department of Energy, where he worked from 1991 through 1998, he was the (de-facto) Principal Investigator, Nuclear Space Transport Systems."
Zuppero has proposed nuclear and solar power
Solar power
Solar energy, radiant light and heat from the sun, has been harnessed by humans since ancient times using a range of ever-evolving technologies. Solar radiation, along with secondary solar-powered resources such as wind and wave power, hydroelectricity and biomass, account for most of the available...
ed steam-propelled spacecraft
Spacecraft
A spacecraft or spaceship is a craft or machine designed for spaceflight. Spacecraft are used for a variety of purposes, including communications, earth observation, meteorology, navigation, planetary exploration and transportation of humans and cargo....
He has proposed such vehicles as a means to carry ice and water around the solar system, rather than take the more energy- and equipment-intensive route of extracting the hydrogen
Hydrogen
Hydrogen is the chemical element with atomic number 1. It is represented by the symbol H. With an average atomic weight of , hydrogen is the lightest and most abundant chemical element, constituting roughly 75% of the Universe's chemical elemental mass. Stars in the main sequence are mainly...
and oxygen
Oxygen
Oxygen is the element with atomic number 8 and represented by the symbol O. Its name derives from the Greek roots ὀξύς and -γενής , because at the time of naming, it was mistakenly thought that all acids required oxygen in their composition...
. His calculations suggest that this needs two orders of magnitude less equipment, and generates propellant at a far faster rate. Working with Geoffrey Landis, he proposed mining water from the Martian
Mars
Mars is the fourth planet from the Sun in the Solar System. The planet is named after the Roman god of war, Mars. It is often described as the "Red Planet", as the iron oxide prevalent on its surface gives it a reddish appearance...
moons Deimos
Deimos (moon)
Deimos is the smaller and outer of Mars's two moons . It is named after Deimos, a figure representing dread in Greek Mythology. Its systematic designation is '.-Discovery:Deimos was discovered by Asaph Hall, Sr...
and Phobos
Phobos (moon)
Phobos is the larger and closer of the two natural satellites of Mars. Both moons were discovered in 1877. With a mean radius of , Phobos is 7.24 times as massive as Deimos...
, showing that there was an optimum specific impulse
Specific impulse
Specific impulse is a way to describe the efficiency of rocket and jet engines. It represents the derivative of the impulse with respect to amount of propellant used, i.e., the thrust divided by the amount of propellant used per unit time. If the "amount" of propellant is given in terms of mass ,...
for doing so, and later proposed similar techniques to utilize water from Near Earth Asteroid
Near-Earth object
A near-Earth object is a Solar System object whose orbit brings it into close proximity with the Earth. All NEOs have a perihelion distance less than 1.3 AU. They include a few thousand near-Earth asteroids , near-Earth comets, a number of solar-orbiting spacecraft, and meteoroids large enough to...
s, and from the moon.