NASA to shelve nuclear propulsion project (NASA kills Prometheus)

Albany Times Union ^ | Wednesday, September 14, 2005 | ERIC ANDERSON

[blowfish]

Although this theory is quite controversial (and rejected out of hand by those who are committed to evolutionary development theories), this type of work demonstrates that there is not necessarily a contradiction between a six day creation and modern science.

I don't see any mention of an apple or a snake in his theory. Or is he still working on that?

[zagabond]

That's the point. They hired all these people at KAPL on the promise of working on Prometheus. Now they're throwing them away. There is no "other" project at KAPL (for the new hires).

I know. One of the best graduate students I ever had took a job at KAPL to work on this. He told me people are already running scared. About all the help they're likely to get is directions to the unemployment office. Try standing in the unemployment line when your job description is reactor physicist. There aren't many takers.

Like I said, you don't hire reactor people to work on a CEV.

Yup. This may be the first time such layoffs occur in the Naval Reactors program. Not even during the downsizing following the peace dividend has something like this happened. Guess what NR's response will be the next time NASA asks for help.

[JasonC]

cept, no ion drive can manage anything remotely like 1/4G thrust. Nor can any rocket keep that sort of thing up. If an engine existed that did that easily and indefinitely, we wouldn't be talking about Mars, but the stars.