Antimatter propulsion using positrons, the subject of PURSUE Release 06 record DOW-UAP-D123, Positron Aerospace Propulsion, a Defense Intelligence Reference Document of 2 March 2010 (DIRDs).
The paper calls itself an anthology of earlier sponsored studies and not a general review, and notes that no vehicle has ever flown on antimatter. It sets out a positron turbojet and ramjet in which annihilation gamma rays heat tungsten shells, three rocket concepts compared for a one-way transit to Mars, and a crewed Mars mission launched around 2030. It projects a gram of positrons at $0.72 trillion, prices the positrons for a first flight, a nonstop drone flight around the globe, at $96 million on one page and $69 million on another without saying which is meant, and says present laboratory stores fall orders of magnitude short of practical needs. Its last sentence calls very long storage lifetimes a matter of engineering.
It says that positrons, unlike fission and antiprotons, present no radiation or environmental safety problems. The survey of Aneutronic Fusion Propulsion in the same release judges antimatter engines the more promising technology.
Connections
DIRDs · PURSUE · Aneutronic Fusion Propulsion · Inertial Electrostatic Confinement Fusion