Harnessing
Nuclear
Energy
to
go
Farther
than Ever Before
Humans have been utiliizing nuclear energy for several decades now. The
amount of energy obtained from nuclear fission is massive, and could be
engineered to provide the energy for a deep space mission. The concept
of a fission rocket would be to utilize the heat from a nuclear
reaction to heat up a propellant, such as hydrogen gas, and then
disperse it through a nozzle to obtain thrust, much like a chemical
rocket. Fission rockets would provide a significant performance boost
over chemical rockets, and would consume much less propellant. This
would allow for expeditions to destinations farther from Earth than can
currently be reached, at much faster velocities. The downside is that
the exhaust from such systems could potentially be radioactive. There
is currently ongoig research to find ways to neutralize this radiation
so that space missions using nuclear fuel would be a viable option.
More Reading
Space Exploration
Nuclear Propulsion: Getting More Miles per Gallon
Astrodigital compares the cost and effectiveness of a mission to mars using both chemical rockets and those powered by nuclear fission.
Nuclear Propulsion: Getting More Miles per Gallon
Astrodigital compares the cost and effectiveness of a mission to mars using both chemical rockets and those powered by nuclear fission.
NASA
Fission Propulsion
A summary of the history of nuclear fission propulsion and the work being done at the Marshall Space Flight Center. Provides a good overview of how fission works.
Fission Propulsion
A summary of the history of nuclear fission propulsion and the work being done at the Marshall Space Flight Center. Provides a good overview of how fission works.
Icarus Interstellar
Evaluation of Application of the Gas Core Nuclear Reactor to the Icarus Mission
An evaluation of the potential drawbacks and challenges to using a gas core reactor to power a spacecraft.
Evaluation of Application of the Gas Core Nuclear Reactor to the Icarus Mission
An evaluation of the potential drawbacks and challenges to using a gas core reactor to power a spacecraft.
Fission Rockets
"In
conclusion
then, the navigation of interplanetary space depends for its
solution on the problem of atomic disintegration... Thus, something
impossible will probably be accomplished through something else which
has always been held equally impossible, but which remains so no longer"A prophecy by Robert H. Goddard in 1907