The Space Exploration Initiative (SEI) calls for lunar and Martian exploration missions for which solid-core nuclear thermal rockets (NTRs), in virtue of their single-stage, fully-reusable nature, are ideally suited. NTRs promise double the specific impulse of chemical propulsion. A lunar mission employing a reusable NTR is currently being conducted by NASA. The NTR would be assembled in LEO in such a way that it remained 'radioactively cold' during earth-to-orbit deployment by a heavy-lift chemical booster, and therefore presented no radioactive hazard. Also under consideration is a particle-bed reactor in which the hydrogen propulsive fluid directly cools coated-particle fuel spheres.


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    Title :

    Nuclear thermal rockets - Key to moon-Mars exploration



    Published in:

    Aerospace America ; 30 , 7, Ju


    Publication date :

    1992-07-01



    Type of media :

    Miscellaneous


    Type of material :

    No indication


    Language :

    English




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