Skip to main content
U.S. Department of Energy
Office of Scientific and Technical Information

Deployment of the Topaz-II space nuclear power plant

Conference · · Transactions of the American Nuclear Society; (United States)
OSTI ID:5817203
; ;  [1]
  1. Phillips Lab., Kirtland, NM (United States)

The Topaz-II is a 5-kW(electric) Russian space nuclear power plant. The power plant resembles a shuttlecock standing 3.9 m high and is 1.4 m in diameter at the base. The reactor is at the top, the radiation shield is in the middle, and the radiator is at the bottom. The whole system weighs 1 tonne. The reactor core is 37.5 cm long and 26 cm in diameter. It contains 37 core-length, single-cell thermionic fuel elements embedded in a ZrH moderator. Each thermionic fuel cell is a cylindrical emitter inside a cylindrical collector. Nuclear fuel inside the emitter raises the emitter's temperature.

OSTI ID:
5817203
Report Number(s):
CONF-930601--
Journal Information:
Transactions of the American Nuclear Society; (United States), Journal Name: Transactions of the American Nuclear Society; (United States) Vol. 68; ISSN 0003-018X; ISSN TANSAO
Country of Publication:
United States
Language:
English