The nuclear option
A development history and current status evaluation are presented for nuclear-thermal rocket propulsion systems applicable to interplanetary flight. While the most advanced current chemical rocket engines, such as the SSMEs of the Space Shuttle, produce specific impulses of the order of 450 secs, a nuclear-thermal rocket engine tested at Los Alamos in 1969 generated 845 secs; such specific impulse improvements could represent weeks or months of interplanetary travel time. Attention is given to the achievements of the historical Nuclear Engine for Rocket Vehicle Application, Helios, and Orion design programs, as well as to the current Vehicle for Interplanetary Space Transportation Applications, which is fusion-based.
- OSTI ID:
- 5510767
- Journal Information:
- Air and Space Smithsonian; (United States), Vol. 6; ISSN 0886-2257
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
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