Wednesday, September 22, 2021

Nuclear power in microgravity

NTP ideally should be tested here on Earth before going into space. The propellant in that "P" is, then, wasted. For salvaging that at the lab, and reusing it: here is a Penn State simulation.

The Nittany Lions are looking at hydrogen at 1475 K. I don't know why the press-release is going Fahrenheit. I also don't know why not ammonia. Although, yes, 1475 K is low-temperature compared to some, so a HALEU option. Ultra Safe's option no less...

Hydrogen has proven not to bunch itself up in the "test loop" - so the testers did get to reuse their propellant. I get the feeling that nuclear-heated propellants aren't as dangerous as chemically-detonated propellants.

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