Russia develops design for spaceship with nuclear engine

RIANOVOSTI ^ | October 28, 2009 | RIA Novosti

[org.whodat]

The Russian nuclear thermal rocket RD-0410 went through a series of tests on the nuclear test site 50°10′12″N 78°22′30″E / 50.170°N 78.375°E / 50.170; 78.375 near Semipalatinsk.[1] The engine was ground-tested at the Semipalatinsk Test Site.[2]

[Captain Beyond]

Hey Kev,
Heads up for a space ping.

[TXnMA]

Regardless of the available power, a rocket does not go anywhere without the high-velocity ejection (consumption) of reaction mass.

Of course, the higher exhaust velocity you can achieve, the less reaction mass you have to expend...

Some nuke rocket proposals have considered using water as reaction mass. The old steam locomotives had water tanks sited every so far along the track to resupply the water they lost as steam. What does a nuclear powered rocketship do when it runs out of reaction mass?

[ErnstStavroBlofeld]

Good Place to test it. It is the most polluted place on the planet.

[Pontiac]

What does a nuclear powered rocketship do when it runs out of reaction mass?

If its in space outside a gravity well, stops accelerating, but just keeps on going.

[papasmurf]

Nuclear batteries, yes!

Build a “personal” sized, Nuclear powered, energy station for each and every home in America, I say.

People just don’t realize that nearly all problems can be solved, such as radioactive waste. The problems just need to be on a significant scale that will justify the science, time, and money spent.

When things really start falling apart on our Planet, then we’ll see solutions to problems we had previously believed were insurmountable.

[eclecticEel]

Welcome to the 1960’s, Russia.

[TomasUSMC]

New Iranian car bomb coming to obambifail soon.

[TomasUSMC]

damn good info

[TXnMA]

"If its in space outside a gravity well, stops accelerating, but just keeps on going."

Agreed -- but faces the need for a comparable negative acceleration (deceleration) on the other end of the journey.

There were discussions years ago of picking up mass material (on Mars, for example) and somehow converting it to ejectable form for the return trip out of Mars' gravity well and for deceleration back at Earth.

That brought up questions of "Converting what to what form"? And, "How do we deal with a return reaction material with different (and, possibly non-uniform) per-particle mass from that which we used on the way out?'

The bottom line is that having power (even nuclear) alone does not equate to having a workable reaction engine system..

[TXnMA]

Spectacular! But, I bet they had fun with the cleanup... ‘-)

[ErnstStavroBlofeld]

Build a “personal” sized, Nuclear powered, energy station for each and every home in America, I say.
I think that they are just around the corner but the problem of disposing the batteries. You can use a element such as thoruim, which is naturally slightly radioactive element

[ErnstStavroBlofeld]

They are already racing cars on nuclear power.

http://www.entergy-nuclear.com/environment/nwr.aspx

[ErnstStavroBlofeld]

What about the radioactive dust?

[Georgiaisred]

Not exactly a Nuclear engine.

Weighing only 1275 pounds, it has a 2.3 liter 4 cylinder Mazda-Cosworth engine that produces 300hp at 8500rpm. It can accelerate to 100mph in less than six seconds and reaches a top speed of 170mph.

[Bender2]

BUMP for later read

[ErnstStavroBlofeld]

It still puts out power though using a generator.