11 days ago
KTVZ
By Jackie Wattles, CNNA nuclear thermal rocket engine in development could one day transport humans to Mars. Research into nuclear thermal rocket engines by NASA began in 1959. A key program in the 1960s, called the Nuclear Engine for Rocket Vehicle Application, even sought to demonstrate the technology in space — but that never came to fruition. “Recent aerospace materials and engineering advancements are enabling a new era for space nuclear technology, and this flight demonstration will be a major achievement toward establishing a space transportation capability for an Earth-Moon economy,” Jim Reuter, associate administrator for NASA’s Space Technology Mission Directorate, said in a statement. Powerful nuclear thermal enginesAs the name implies, a nuclear thermal engine would rely on a nuclear reactor, using a process called atomic fission — in which a neutron slams into an atom to rip it apart, setting off a powerful chain reaction — to heat up propellant and provide the thrust needed to propel a rocket through space.
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