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		AE-1 Pulling Away [103/127] Title: AE-1 Pulling Away Keywords: Atomic Catalog Number: SF-077 Original: Digital Created: 2000 Caption: Power is to be supplied by a nuclear reactor suspended 150 feet away at the end of the "handle" of the parasol shaped Mars ship. A thick layer of beryllium and a sheet of boron provide additional shielding. The cooling system employs sodium-potassium, which transfers the heat to the silicon oil working fluid. The oil steam drives a turbine which is coupled to a generator. Leaving the turbine, the steam passes into the large, circular radiation cooler where it condenses and is pumped back into the heat exchanger. The propellant is cesium, which can be ionized easily. A temperature of 200· C produces a sufficient vapor pressure of the alkaline element. The vapor enters an ionization chamber containing hot platinum grids and the ions are extracted by an electric field. This field accelerates the ions in the thrust chamber to a velocity of about 50 miles per second. To produce and maintain a constant flow of particles from the system, the ions must be electrically neutralized soon after leaving the thrust chamber. Although the thrust of each ship is only 110 pounds, this can be maintained continuously for as long as desired. Eventually, any velocity desired can be attained. Above text from page 380 of The Dream Machines by Ron Miller, copyright 1993 by Krieger Publishing Company The 1957 Mars Spaceships are re-created using Strata Studio Blitz 3d computer graphic program. The stars in the scene are made with Photoshop 3.0. and imported into into Strata as a backdrop