UK could use plutonium in space nuclear power demonstration

Flightglobal.com ^ | 2/15/2010 | Rob Coppinger

[ErnstStavroBlofeld]

On Earth, nuclear power is controversial - but for deep space missions it is a necessity. However, the plutonium driving spacecraft power systems is invaluable not only for its ability to keep electricity flowing where solar cells cannot; Pu-238 is also in short supply.

So rare is it that European Space Agency work on radioisotope power systems spearheaded by the agency's new UK facility will initially be done without the key ingredient.

Nuclear power is critical to the 2018 ESA-NASA ExoMars Martian rovers mission and the UK's Moonlite project. Moonlite is on hold for budgetary reasons, but would use a radioisotope heater unit. More recently two ESA-NASA joint missions, Cassini-Huygens and Ulysses, used nuclear power. More flights are planned, such as the Europa Jupiter System Mission.

In 2009 the US National Academy of Sciences concluded that nuclear energy for space is a high priority because solar arrays and batteries cannot provide enough electricity when a spacecraft, lander or rover is flying in darkness or battery-sapping extreme cold. And such conditions can persist for days or weeks, or permanently depending on the planet, moon or crater being explored.

The USA has launched 26 civil and military nuclear-powered missions including Voyagers 1 and 2. Launched in 1977 they will transmit data from beyond the solar system until 2020, when their atomic energy runs out.

The academy also cited "numerous studies" that found Plutonium-238 (Pu-238) to be the best radioisotope because of its 87.7-year half life, its high power density at 0.57 watts per gram and its low external radiation levels. As it is no longer manufactured, re-establishing US Pu-238 production was another academy recommendation - with a $150 million price tag. NASA has now been funded to restart production.

[Incorrigible]

Maybe Iran can sell us some Plutonium.

Of course, we could reverse Carter’s executive order and start reprocessing spent nuclear fuel.

[PIF]

“Of course, we could reverse Carter’s executive order and start reprocessing spent nuclear fuel.”

Dreamer!

[PIF]

Other than small scale use of radioactive material in space (like this and other probes), large scale use is a non-starter. Even just going this far, the enviro-wackos throw up huge lawsuits to prevent any such usage - everything from danger of falling back to earth and killing millions to contaminating pristine space with radioactivity (yes, they are really that nuts).

So contrary to the author’s contention, using radioactive material in space is just as controversial as building a nuclear reactor in the US (other countries are no so short-sighted).