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Project Prometheus (also known as Project Promethian) was established in 2003 by NASA to develop nuclear-powered systems for long-duration space missions. [1] This was NASA's first serious foray into nuclear spacecraft propulsion since the cancellation of the SNTP project in 1995. The project was planned to design, develop, and fly multiple ...
Kilopower is an experimental U.S. project to make new nuclear reactors for space travel. [1] [2] The project started in October 2015, led by NASA and the DoE’s National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA). [3]
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)
NASA will test a nuclear-powered rocket for space travel. The technology could speed up a manned trip to Mars from the current seven-month minimum to 45 days.
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 ...
In May 1946, the U.S. Air Force launched the Nuclear Energy for Propulsion of Aircraft (NEPA) project to explore the potential of nuclear energy for powering aircraft. [13] [14] This initiative led to a collaborative effort of the Air Force and the U.S. Atomic Energy Commission (AEC) known as the Aircraft Nuclear Propulsion (ANP) program, aimed at developing nuclear propulsion systems for ...
The Systems Nuclear Auxiliary POWER (SNAP) program was a program of experimental radioisotope thermoelectric generators (RTGs) and space nuclear reactors flown during the 1960s by NASA. The SNAP program developed as a result of Project Feedback, a Rand Corporation study of reconnaissance satellites completed in 1954. [ 1 ]
Because Project Rover fell under the aegis of the Atomic Energy Commission, a way had to be found for NASA and the AEC to share a large, expensive, classified program; specifically, Los Alamos was developing technology for NASA to use. A "program office" was created in Washington, D.C. under the executive branch of the U.S. government.