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Well, in most of our countries, nuclear things are government monopolies. What that means, is that if the government really wants it, the anti-nuclear activists will not be able to stop it. Example: nuclear weapons.
That the anti-nuclear activists werre able to kill the thing tells me USAF was just dabbling with NTR during Star Wars, not so very serious. For one thing, the rockets we had were (even then) far more than adequate to hurl big warheads, without any nuclear stages. The overkill factor was on the thousands. What's the point of more?
That being said, I surely would like to see us working on a path toward a water-"fueled" gas core NTR, starting (of course) with something solid-core like Timberwind. That would be the 2-decade path anticipating those needs (exploration, small experimental bases, etc.). I think the nuclear explosion option ought to be seriously looked at, too, as the most practical for the giant ships needed for real colonization. That would be closer to a 5-decade path anticipating that need.
GW
GW Johnson
McGregor, Texas
"There is nothing as expensive as a dead crew, especially one dead from a bad management decision"
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NERVA developed 1974: engine mass 11,860 kg, Thrust(vac) 88,451 kgf, Isp 825 sec.
NERVA study in 1990: engine mass 8,500 kg, Thrust(vac) 34,000 kgf, Isp 925 sec.
Timberwind 45: engine mass 1,500 kg, Thrust(vac) 45,000 kgf, Isp: 1,000 sec.
MITEE has an engine mass of 140 kg with U-235, and Isp 1,000 sec, and engine mass can be reduced to 80 kg by using U-233, or 50 kg using Am-242m? Um, really!? Thrust is hand written as 14,000 Newtons (1,427.6 kgf), so that's unreliable and much smaller than the other engines. But still, the ratio of thrust to engine mass is:
NERVA (1974): 7.458
NERVA (1990): 4
Timberwind 45: 30
MITEE (U-235): 10.2
MITEE (U-233): 17.845
MITEE (Am-242m): 28.552
Ok, so MITEE isn't all that extreme. And it should be restartable. And it's small. Very innnnteresting.
(Ps. It's amazing what sticks in your head: innnnteresting)
Last edited by RobertDyck (2014-02-19 15:06:36)
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MITEE was projected by the same team of Timberwind.
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