Abstract: Greatly reduced costs for the transportation of small cargoes that can withstand extremely high decelerations and of materials from Earth and of lunar materials to a low Earth orbiting satellite is obtained by having such materials and cargoes in a crash-load that collided with much matter within the satellite's very large containing chamber seriatum. Such matter is collected by the use of tether-induced "gravity", by powerful electro-magnets or by other magnetic forces and then such matter is concentrated towards the center of such chambers by the use of catapult-pushers, a very massive tub-pusher, or by magnetic forces produced by large coils which encircle the chamber. Incoming crash-loads are centered along the center-line of such chamber by magnetic forces formed by the use of external coils of decreasing diameter that are along the trajectory of the crash-load before the chamber. The walls of a crash-load containing chamber are protected from damage from flying debris, etc.

Abstract: Greatly reduced cost of extraterrestrial transporation of strong items and materials is obtained through the use of impact into a crash-capturing-containing facility for deceleration. Cargoes from both the Earth and Moon can be cheaply crash-transported to a low earth orbit crash-load-capturing-satellite so that the satellite maintains a somewhat constant low earth orbit. By crash-capturing only lunar materials, the crash-containing satellite can also become a cargo-transporting satellite that travels from low earth orbit and delivers a much greater quantity of materials to a higher earth orbiting station that it started with. By crash-capturing only retrograde highly elliptically orbiting lunar material, that cargo-transporting satellite can be moved from a high earth orbit back to a low earth orbit.

Abstract: Large falling column-globs of molten sodium are dropped into positions around the center of a large explosion-containing chamber such that most of the effects of neutron-producing bursts, such as high energy photons, neutrons, and highly kinetic ions are attenuated and/or absorbed therein so as to prevent any damage to the chamber. This molten sodium absorbs most of the debris and produced energy of said bursts and is a working fluid by which said debris and such thermal energy is withdrawn from said chamber.

Abstract: A reactor system for producing useful thermal energy and valuable isotopes, such as plutonium-239, uranium-233, and/or tritium, in which a pair of sub-critical masses of fissile and fertile actinide slugs are propelled into an ellipsoidal pressure vessel. The propelled slugs intercept near the center of the chamber where the concurring slugs become a more than prompt configuration thereby producing a fission explosion. Re-useable accelerating mechanisms are provided external of the vessel for propelling the slugs at predetermined time intervals into the vessel. A working fluid of lean molten metal slurry is injected into the chamber prior to each explosion for the attenuation of the explosion's effects, for the protection of the chamber's walls, and for the absorbtion of thermal energy and debris from the explosion. The working fluid is injected into the chamber in a pattern so as not to interfere with the flight paths of the slugs and to maximize the concentration of working fluid near the chamber's center.

Abstract: A large free-falling mass with a hollow vertical hole therethrough is intercepted by a smaller sub-critical high velocity downward traveling mass and with a smaller sub-critical high velocity upward traveling mass. A resulting explosion is contained within a large chamber which contains much molten sodium spray which attenuates the effects of the explosion and absorbs the explosion's energy and debris. The heated molten sodium with debris provides useful thermal energy to a heat exchanger means and materials for new masses and for new assemblies that are manufactured from precipitate therefrom. The reactor system is a net consumer of plutonium and converts spent enriched uranium LWR fuels into enriched (mostly of U.sup.233) uranium by the neutron irradiation of thorium.

Abstract: A large inertial confinement breeder reactor wherein neutron bursts produced by fusion, fission or combined fission and fusion are contained seriatim in a large chamber. Each burst results from interception of a large, sub-critical free-falling mass by a smaller upward accelerated slug such that the combined assembly is more than prompt-critical. The resulting thermal energy is absorbed by a spray which generally fills the chamber. The innermost portion of the spray comprises a dense slurry of actinides in molten sodium while the outer portions of spray comprise a very dilute slurry of actinides in molten sodium. The collected heated spray also contains the debris of the explosion and travels through a heat exchanger-precipitator means wherefrom dense slurry, lean slurry, precipitate, and thermal energy may be extracted.

Abstract: A system for producing neutron pulses seriatim in which a smaller, high velocity, sub-critical, downward traveling slug intercepts a larger downward falling sub-critical target-mass, both of which have a portion of higher concentration in fissile materials. The combined masses are more than prompt-critical and the resulting neutron and energy pulse is contained within a large pressure vessel. Spray of mostly sodium slurry protects the walls of the vessel from the effects of the neutron and energy pulse and absorbs the energy and neutron excess of the energy-neutron pulse. Heated slurry is drained from the pressure vessel to provide useful heat energy and neutron irradiated materials. Precipitated materials and sodium are used in the fabrication of both the slug and target-mass.

Abstract: A nuclear reactor system which produces useful thermal power and breeds fissile isotopes wherein large spherical complex slugs containing fissile and fertile isotopes as well as vaporizing and tamping materials are exploded seriatim in a large containing chamber having walls protected from the effects of the explosion by about two thousand tons of slurry of fissile and fertile isotopes in molten alkali metal. The slug which is slightly sub-critical prior to its entry into the centroid portion of the chamber, then becomes slightly more than prompt-critical because of the near proximity of neutron-reflecting atoms and of fissioning atoms within the slurry. The slurry is heated by explosion of the slugs and serves as a working fluid for extraction of heat energy from the reactor. Explosive debris is precipitated from the slurry and used for the fabrication of new slugs.

Abstract: A de facto wall-less heat exchanger system wherein a non-volatile heated liquid from a nuclear, geothermal or other source of heat is introduced into a chamber containing a highly volatile fluid which is chemically non-reactive with the non-volatile liquid. The volatile fluid is converted to a pressurized vapor which may be used to drive a turbine for the production of useful energy, to pump the non-volatile liquid or to pump a different fluid.