Michael Eades, director of engineering at USNC-Tech, says that nuclear power rockets would be more powerful and twice as efficient as the chemical engines used today, meaning they could travel more efficiently. longer and faster, burning less fuel.
“Nuclear technology will extend human reach beyond the Earth ‘s lower orbit, and into deep space,” he tells CNN.
In addition to enabling human space travel, it could open up space for galactic business opportunities, he says.
Travel space faster
Most rockets today are powered by chemical engines. These could take you to Mars, but it would take a long time – at least three years for a round trip – says Jeff Sheehy, chief engineer of NASA ‘s Space Technology Mission Steering Group.
It would also reduce the overall risk of the run. “The longer you are out there, the more time there will be for things to go wrong,” he says.
That is why the space agency is looking to develop rockets with nuclear power.
NTP rockets produce twice the energy per unit propellant of the chemical system – which is like saying it “doubles thousands per gallon,” says Sheehy. This means the technology could get astronauts to Mars and back in less than two years.
Photograph of a spaceship with a nuclear power transfer system. Courtesy of NASA.
However, one of the main challenges for building an NTP engine is to find uranium fuel that can withstand the blowing temperature inside a nuclear thermal engine.
Along with other companies developing similar technology, USNC-Tech has presented their development to NASA.
While Sheehy would not comment on any individual design details, he said the developments show that nuclear engines are viable and could “make a good choice for human exploration to Mars.”
Is the nuclear option safe?
Shorter missions would limit the crew’s exposure to space radiation, but there are still concerns about the radiation emitted from the nuclear reactor inside the spacecraft.
This would be mitigated by the design of the rocket, Eades explains. The melting movements – stored between the engine and the crew area – block radioactive particles, acting as an “extremely good radiation shield,” he says.
The distance between the crew and the reactor also provides a buffer, Sheehy said, and any NTP design would add the accommodations at the other end of the rocket to the reactor.
To protect humans on the ground, an NTP spacecraft would not lift directly from Earth, Sheehy adds. Instead, a regular chemical rocket would take it into orbit, and only then would it set fire to its nuclear reactor.
Once in orbit, it could do little damage, he says, since explosions and thermal radiation cannot move through a desert.
If a disaster struck and the rocket’s reactor broke, the pieces would not lie on Earth – or any other planet – for tens of thousands of years, he says. By then, the radioactive material would have “naturally declined to the point where it was no longer dangerous.”
Deep place exploration
While the current USNC-Tech goal for a one-way mission is five to nine months, nuclear power technology has the potential to cut Earth-to-Mars missions to just 90 days, Eades said.
Those faster travel times it could open up a wealth of opportunities. USNC-Tech hopes to develop its technology for government agencies such as NASA and the Department of Defense, and for the commercial space market. The company says its concept could help power space tourism and “high-speed orbital logistics services,” such as carrying satellites or delivering satellite-capable spacecraft. repaired out in space.
Sheehy agrees that nuclear power rockets will be crucial in opening up the solar system but warns it could be at least two decades before they are widely used. Many demonstrations and tests had to be done before a team could be sent to Mars in an NTP rocket, he says.
“No one has ever made a nuclear move yet,” he says. “I think it has to be flown a few times … before someone sells tickets. “