The United States is increasingly interested in using nuclear energy in orbit. Now the US military has announced plans to launch several nuclear propulsion systems and power plants into orbit around our planet by 2027 at the latest.
More and more activity with nuclear ideas
The so-called Defense Innovation Unit (DIU) is a division of the US Department of Defense that aims to quickly make emerging technologies useful to the military. Observers described the department, founded in 2015, as a “Pentagon experiment” to bring innovative power together. Since then, DIU has announced that two contracts have been awarded for the development of prototypes. Objective: “Demonstration of the next generation of nuclear propulsion and power options for spacecraft”.
were strongly commanded Report by Space.com the two American companies Ultra Safe Nuclear and Avalanche Energy. The task: DIU wants to test “small spacecraft” in the so-called cislunar space, ie. space in lunar orbit, which is equipped with nuclear propulsion and energy systems. The publication does not show how much the department is investing in what makes it difficult to assess the actual size of projects at the moment.
This is carefully planned
Ultra Safe Nuclear calls its project EmberCore, behind which lies the idea of a rechargeable radioisotope battery that can be used to power and power. Compared to previously tested plutonium systems, it should be possible to achieve ten times higher productivity here. “Several kilograms of fuel will provide more than 1 million kilowatt hours (kWh) of energy,” explains DIU. Avalanche Energy is planning an even more adventurous project with Orbitron.
For example, the first step is to capture synthesis ions in electrostatic fields. The microwave must then make it possible to keep the electrons closer to the nuclei. “As a result of fusion, energy particles are then produced that produce heat or electricity that can power a highly efficient propulsion system.”
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