A Benefit-Cost Analysis of Nuclear Power Applied to the GPS Mission

Abstract

OLAR powered spacecraft are currently being developed for the Global Positioning System (GPS). The development of nuclear power supplies and related technologies have proceeded to the point where nuclear powered spacecraft alternatives are possible and need to receive serious consideration for application to the GPS mission. An analysis was performed, and is herein reported, of the economic benefits which may result from developing and utilizing nuclear powered spacecraft in place of solar powered spacecraft for the GPS mission. The analysis considers cost uncertainties, launch system and spacecraft subsystem reliability, time phasing of nuclear spacecraft into a system consisting of solar powered spacecraft, a nuclear demonstration experiment, and the likelihood of nuclear operational spacecraft implementation in terms of the successful duration of the experiment, and single and multiple payload launches. It also develops the probability distributions of all pertinent events, annual costs, and present values of costs and benefits. Contents Since the early 1960's, both the Navy and the Air Force have actively pursued the idea that navigation and positioning could be performed using radio signals transmitted from space vehicles. This has led to the Global Positioning System (GPS),l which is a space-based radio positioning navigation system that will provide extremely accurate three-dimensional position and velocity information together with system time to suitably equipped users anywhere on or near the Earth. The space segment of the system will ultimately consist of 24 spacecraft deployed in circular 10,900-n. mi. orbits, having 12-hr periods and located in three orbital planes inclined at approximately 63 deg.