Tag Archives: Nuclear
Live Event: Nuclear Power in Space
For more than six decades, the United States has pursued the promise of nuclear power in space a technology capable of delivering energy where sunlight cant reach and enabling missions beyond the limits of chemical propulsion. Yet since a brief reactor flight in 1965, no fission reactor has operated in orbit.
Now, amid renewed competition from China and Russia, advancing reactor designs and emerging commercial interest, space nuclear power is at a crossroads. Advocates see it as essential for sustained lunar operations, crewed Mars missions, and national security in cislunar space. Critics warn of cost, complexity, and regulatory hurdles that have derailed past efforts.
In addition, NASA leadership has prioritized a nuclear reactor on the moon.
Join us Aug. 28 as we examine why the stakes are high, whats changed in the past year and whether this time...
US warns Russia not to touch American nuclear technology at Ukrainian nuclear plant
Technology tamfitronics The US has sensitive nuclear technology at a nuclear power plant inside Ukraine and is warning Russia not to touch it, according to a letter the US Department of Energy sent to Russia's state-owned nuclear energy firm Rosatom last month...
Nuclear rockets could travel to Mars in half the time − but designing the reactors that would power them isn’t easy
NASA Space Technology This article was originally published atThe Conversation.The publication contributed the article to Space.com'sExpert Voices: Op-Ed & Insights.And Kotlyar is an Associate Professor of Nuclear and Radiological Engineering at the Georgia Institute of Technology.NASA plans to send crewed missions to Mars over the next decade – but the 140 million-mile (225 million-kilometer) journey to the red planet could take several months to years round trip.This relatively long transit time is a result of the use of traditional chemical rocket fuel. An alternative technology to the chemically propelled rockets the agency develops now is called nuclear thermal propulsion, which uses nuclear fission and could one day power a rocket that makes the trip in just half the time.Nuclear fission involves harvesting the incredible amount of energy released when an atom is split by...
Hard Nuclear Weapons Choices Await Harris or Trump as President
Politics tamfitronics October 3, 20245 min readPolitics tamfitronics The Next President Faces Tough Nuclear Weapons DeadlinesWhoever wins the 2024 presidential election will face heightened nuclear geopolitics, deadlines on nuclear deals with Russia and Iran and decisions on a $2-trillion weapons-modernization effortBy Daniel Vergano Thomas FuchsThis article is part of a series on what the 2024 presidential election means for science, health and the environment. Editors with expertise on each topic delved into the candidates’ records and policies and the evidence behind them.Amid the many dangers facing the world, questions about the direction of U.S. nuclear policy—and control of the nuclear button—have received surprisingly little attention in the 2024 election, nuclear policy experts say. “Overall, the missing story is why there isn’t more argument about nuclear weapons at precisely a time when the commander in chief...
