Table of Contents
How fast is nuclear thermal propulsion?
A solid-core nuclear-thermal rocket will have a maximum Ve of about 8 km/s (5 miles per second).
Why do rockets not use nuclear power?
The problem with rockets is that you need a working fluid which you have to supply, carry with you, exhaust and resupply, even if you can get the energy from the nuclear power source to shoot the reactant out. Further, if the power source is nuclear, the exhaust will probably be radioactive.
What are some of the drawbacks for using nuclear power?
Nuclear Energy Cons
- Expensive to Build. Despite being relatively inexpensive to operate, nuclear power plants are incredibly expensive to build—and the cost keeps rising.
- Accidents.
- Produces Radioactive Waste.
- Impact on the Environment.
- Security Threat.
- Limited Fuel Supply.
What is nuclear thermal propulsion?
Typically when the term “Nuclear Thermal Propulsion” (or NTP) is used, it is in reference to in-space propulsion systems that rely upon a low molecular weight (typically hydrogen) fuel that flows through a reactor to generate heat due to the nuclear fission processes and eventual thrust.
Can nuclear thermal propulsion send astronauts to Mars?
In the 1960s, rocket pioneer Wernher von Braun served as NASA’s Marshall Space Flight Center director and blueprinted use of Nuclear Thermal Propulsion to send astronauts to Mars by the early 1980s. New work on Nuclear Thermal Propulsion builds upon NASA’s Nuclear Engine for Rocket Vehicle Application (NERVA) program of the 1960s.
Can materials technology make nuclear rocket propulsion more affordable?
Recent advances in materials technology may provide a more affordable pathway to development of a nuclear rocket engine, suggests Michael Houts, the NTP principal investigator on the project at NASA Marshall. For decades, a range of nuclear propulsion system designs have involved reactors fueled by highly enriched uranium.
Is a first-generation NTP the future of advanced nuclear propulsion systems?
The role of a first-generation NTP in the evolution to advanced nuclear propulsion systems, Houts senses, could be analogous to the role of the DC-3 airplane in the development of advanced aviation.