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Russia has reneged on an agreement to deliver a total of 10 kilograms of plutonium-238 to the United States in 2010 and 2011 and is insisting on a new deal for the costly material vital to NASA’s deep space exploration plans. The move follows the U.S. Congress’ denial of President Barack Obama’s request for $30 million in 2010 to permit the Department of Energy to begin the painstaking process of restarting domestic production of plutonium-238. Bringing U.S. nuclear laboratories back on line to produce the isotope is expected to cost at least $150 million and take six years to seven...

WASHINGTON, D.C. - NASA’s nuclear future promises more maneuverable, longer-lasting spacecraft and rovers with more onboard power than scientists know what to do with. Nuclear propulsion and power systems also could greatly reduce travel times to distant planets and supply energy to future planetary settlements, said Al Newhouse, director of NASA’s Project Prometheus nuclear power and propulsion program. In the near term, Newhouse said, NASA’s nuclear ambitions are focused on building a better battery for an unmanned lander launching to Mars in 2009 and a nuclear-electric propulsion system for a planned 2015 robotic tour of Jupiter’s icy moons. NASA plans...

ST. LOUIS, July 1, 2003 - Boeing [NYSE:BA] has been named by the Department of Energy (DOE) to lead in the creation of a next-generation power system for future Mars surface missions and the exploration of deep space. Boeing Rocketdyne Propulsion and Power in Canoga Park, Calif., is teamed with Teledyne Energy Systems, Inc. to develop, qualify, and deliver electrical power generation systems for interplanetary missions and probes. The new compact power system, a multi-mission radioisotope thermoelectric generator (MMRTG), will provide unique in-space and planetary surface power capability.

NASA selected several radioisotope-based power-conversion technologies for research and development (R&D). The awards are the first competitive technology procurement funded wholly by NASA's Project Prometheus. These systems are distinguished by their use of new technologies for converting heat from radioisotope fuel into electrical power. The technologies are intended for use in improved radioisotope-power systems, which could provide higher efficiencies and power levels than those used on existing devices, enabling more sophisticated science instruments and spacecraft subsystems. The awards cover several distinct power-conversion technology areas: Thermoelectrics, Thermophotovoltaics, Stirling Engines, and Brayton Engines. "With this award, NASA is laying the foundation for...

NASA wants space flights to be nuclear Fission would be used to produce electricity Agency says safety top priority in 2-pronged project GWYNETH SHAW SPECIAL TO THE STAR WASHINGTON—There's a fact that NASA chief administrator Sean O'Keefe has become fond of sharing during his first year in office: Today's spaceships travel at the same speed as the Friendship 7 when John Glenn rode it to fame with his 1962 orbit of the Earth. O'Keefe's point: There have been few advances in space propulsion in the last 40 years. If the chief has his way, however, that will change. Last year,...