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Nuclear thermal propulsion systems (NTR) are based on the heating power of a fission reactor, offering a more efficient propulsion system than one powered by chemical reactions. Current research focuses more on nuclear electric systems as the power source for providing thrust to propel spacecraft that are already in space.
Nuclear pulse propulsion or external pulsed plasma propulsion is a hypothetical method of spacecraft propulsion that uses nuclear explosions for thrust. [1] It originated as Project Orion with support from DARPA , after a suggestion by Stanislaw Ulam in 1947. [ 2 ]
Nuclear thermal rockets can provide great performance advantages compared to chemical propulsion systems. Nuclear power sources could also be used to provide the spacecraft with electrical power for operations and scientific instrumentation. [12] Examples: NERVA (Nuclear Energy for Rocket Vehicle Applications), a US nuclear thermal rocket program
Lockheed Martin was awarded a contract by federal agency DARPA in partnership with NASA to build out an experimental nuclear-powered spacecraft that aims to make trips to the moon and Mars more ...
NASA will partner with the U.S. military's research and development agency, DARPA, to develop a nuclear thermal propulsion engine and launch it to space "as soon as 2027," NASA administrator Bill ...
The U.S. military is giving Lockheed Martin $33.7 million to make a nuclear-powered spacecraft. Here are the details. For the First Time Since '65, the U.S. Military Will Blast a Nuclear Reactor ...
Here, nuclear propulsion moreso refers to the source of propulsion being nuclear, instead of a nuclear electric rocket where a nuclear reactor would provide power (instead of solar panels) for other types of electrical propulsion. Nuclear propulsion methods include: Fission-fragment rockets; Fission sails; Fusion rockets; Nuclear thermal ...
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 ...