Nuclear thermal rocket engine? You've got to be kidding me!..................
“Nuclear-powered”
~~~
Quuuuuaaaadddde. Start the reactor!
No nooos!!! they are going to pollute space - the children will suffer.
Nuclear thermal rocket engine? You've got to be kidding me!..................
Only to arrive at an atmosphere-free and magnetic-field-free planet that features continuous and unavoidable flesh-roasting cosmic radiation in unsurvivable doses.
Must we really continue to entertain these fantasies about leaving Earth for greener pastures?
>>since astronauts will spend less time being pelted by cosmic radiation while moving through space
If you eliminate the astronauts and use radiation hardened electronics for the artificial intelligence, then you won’t need as much shielding of the nuclear propulsion either.
Oh yeah. That’s a winner!
Okey Dokey...
Another of NASA’s waste money diversity programs
“Demonstration Rocket for Agile Cislunar Operations”
Cislunar??? What, are NASA a bunch of transphobes?
Nothing new NASA experimented with nuclear rockets in the 1960’s at Nevada Test Range
Principle is simple use a nuclear reactor to heat working fluid to incredible temperatures and expel the superheated gases out the exhaust nozzle
Working fluid can be number of things,, liquid hydrogen, ammonia , methane , even water
The resultant ISP (amount of thrust produced by pound of propellants) is 2 to 3 times that of most powerful chemical rockets
“Pelted by gamma rays”
Quick, where’s that from?
Of course and should have been considered serious for a long time. We have a huge safety history with out nuclear powered submarines. And what is space, but another sea. All we need is to build long range spaceships in modules, on the moon or in the upper atmosphere, lifting the nuclear power module up through earth’s heavy atmosphere on its own, and moving it into position for coupling with the rest of the long range modules.
Such power modules should be preplaced on Mars where a later mission will ready them as the local power plant.
On Easter Sunday -- after spending her first night all alone in the cold -- little Ginny was alive and well after being born from Perseverance.
Poor NASA -- no clue what its higher mission is.
Oh well, it's all part of the fun. No one could then accuse the rocket scientists of meaning to do that.
NASA's Ingenuity mini-helicopter has survived its first night alone on the frigid surface of Mars, the US space agency said, hailing it as "a major milestone" for the tiny craft as it prepares for its first flight.NASA's Ingenuity helicopter survives first night alone on Mars
"major milestone" 🐣
CISLunar??? WTF? They really need to rub our noses in their stink, don’t they?
I wonder if they’re going to credit Robert A. Heinlein for stealing his idea for torch ships.
“Melroy also explained that faster trips are safer trips since astronauts will spend less time being pelted by cosmic radiation while moving through space.”
Unless they hit a basketball sized chunk of iron moving at 18,0000 miles per hour.
L