Gateway shuttle (V2)
Crew and cargo between the Gateway and Titan orbit
Crew and cargo between the Gateway and Titan orbit. A descendant of the Meridian-class shuttles built in Concordia's yard. The reactor heats propellant that never burns, so the exhaust is nearly invisible and the nozzle glows white-hot. On Titan it refuels with local methane.
Propulsion: Nuclear-thermal, Titan methane propellant (hydrogen option). Envelope: 45 m long by 9 m maximum diameter design
All input and derived values below are read from assets/data/vehicles.json, generated by scripts/analysis/vehicle_budget.py. Values marked “verify” are not established facts.
Open the 3D model See it in the tour How the propulsion works
Inputs
| Input | Value | Basis and notes |
|---|---|---|
| Isp s methane | 600 | challenge Verify before treating as established Zubrin, Nuclear thermal rockets using indigenous Martian propellants (AIAA 89-2768): ~600 s class with CH4 |
| Isp s hydrogen option | 900 | physics NERVA/Rover test programme: ~850-900 s with hydrogen (NASA NTRS) |
| Dry mass with payload, t | 180 | design |
| Thrust, kN | 300 | design |
| Titan parking altitude, km | 1,500 | design above the bulk of the haze; aerocapture would cut capture delta-v |
| Design Δv, km/s | 4.5 | design round trip plus margin |
| Chamber pressure mpa | 3 | physics NERVA/Rover test programme: chamber pressures of about 3 MPa (NASA NTRS) |
| Nozzle expansion ratio | 100 | design NERVA XE' class vacuum nozzle |
Derived performance
| Quantity | Value |
|---|---|
| Gateway departure Δv, km/s | 0.81 |
| Titan arrival v∞, km/s | 1.53 |
| Titan capture Δv, km/s | 1.12 |
| One way propulsive Δv, km/s | 1.92 |
| Mass ratio | 2.149 |
| Methane, t | 206.7 |
| Methane volume, m³ | 514 |
| Tanks | 2 x 6 m diameter, 11 m long |
| Reactor thermal, MW | 929 |
| Mass flow kg, s | 51 |
| Characteristic velocity, m/s | 3,114 |
| Throat diameter, m | 0.26 |
| Nozzle exit diameter, m | 2.6 |
| Methane tank diameter, m | 6 |
| Methane tank length, m | 11.1 |