High Speed Re-Usable Mars Cruiser Concept

 

• Built first in Earth orbit, ferried out to Lunar orbit for Solar Powered Ion Engine fitting and fueling with Lunar Water for Fuel.
• Torus provides 1 g when used as a high speed human cruiser, outer ring floor stores liquid water for shielding and ballast for Hydro Pump Gyroscopic re-Orientation maneuvers
• Engine Strut or Truss provides Cryogenic Superconducting Solenoid for Emergency Magnetospheric protection during helocentric events to protect human crew. Cryogenics replenished from cracking and cooling H2O as needed as separate gases.
• Slow cruise out to Mars to rendevouz with Deimos for retro-fitting with Nuclear Thermal Propulsion plant provided by autonomous robots on Vesta asteroid refining U238 and other fuels from regolith, and building Nuclear Thermal Cores. Boot strapped on Solar and RTG eventually self powered by Nuclear fuels. - retains Dual speed mix, NEP Nuclear Electric Propulsion for autonomous cargo runs, NTP - Nuclear Thermal Propulsion for high speed high value human crewed transits. Also NTP can better power the Magnetospheric shielding afforded by the Strut to protect cargo and crew from cosmic rays or solar events. Might even use a Magentohydrodynamic generator on the exhaust to bleed power as needed to trade speed for shield power as demand intensifies and modulate it as needed.
• Entire ship rotates and no crew compartments are ever zero g, angular momentum is conserved. No counter rotating parts to seize, slip or fail sealed compartments to minimize gases loss.
• Additional cargo space all along the main Strut or Truss running from Torus to Engine compartment, lashed to outer surface.. think multiple landing capable Starships lashed to the main Mast of the ship.