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After the ban of nuclear weapons in space by the Outer Space Treaty in 1967, nuclear power has been discussed at least since 1972 as a sensitive issue by states. [8] Space nuclear power sources may experience accidents during launch, operation, and end-of-service phases, resulting in the exposure of nuclear power sources to extreme physical conditions and the release of radioactive materials ...
This list of nuclear power systems in space includes 83 nuclear power systems that were flown to space, or at least launched in an attempt to reach space. Such used nuclear power systems include: radioisotope heater units (RHU) (usually produce heat by spontaneous decay of 238. Pu.
Starfish Prime was a high-altitude nuclear test conducted by the United States, a joint effort of the Atomic Energy Commission (AEC) and the Defense Atomic Support Agency. It was launched from Johnston Atoll on July 9, 1962, and was the largest nuclear test conducted in outer space, and one of five conducted by the US in space.
SNAP-11 →. SNAP-10A (Systems for Nuclear Auxiliary Power, [3] aka Snapshot for Space Nuclear Auxiliary Power Shot, also known as OPS 4682[4]) was a US experimental nuclear powered satellite launched into space in 1965 [5] as part of the SNAPSHOT program. [6][4] The test marked both the world's first operation of a nuclear reactor in orbit, [7 ...
High-altitude nuclear explosions are the result of nuclear weapons testing within the upper layers of the Earth's atmosphere and in outer space. Several such tests were performed at high altitudes by the United States and the Soviet Union between 1958 and 1962. The Partial Test Ban Treaty was passed in October 1963, ending atmospheric and ...
Power generation could be accomplished with gas turbine technology, which is well developed. Nuclear fuel would be highly enriched uranium encapsulated in low-boron graphite balls probably 5–10 cm in diameter. The graphite would also moderate the neutrons of the nuclear reaction. This style of reactor can be designed to be inherently safe.
NASA artist rendering, from 1999, of the Project Orion pulsed nuclear fission spacecraft. Project Orion was a study conducted in the 1950s and 1960s by the United States Air Force, DARPA, [1] and NASA into the viability of a nuclear pulse spaceship that would be directly propelled by a series of atomic explosions behind the craft. [2][3] Early ...
The U.S. Army Nuclear Power Program formally commenced in 1954. Under its management, the 2 megawatt SM-1, at Fort Belvoir, Virginia, was the first in the United States to supply electricity in an industrial capacity to the commercial grid (VEPCO), in April 1957. [30]