Solid-core reactor has reached prototype engine demonstration after decade of development; review describes major characteristics of solid-core nuclear rocket engines, to indicate their state of development and probable application, and to discuss variety of advanced concepts for high-thrust propulsion systems; hydrogen which has molecular weight one-fourth that of chemical-propellant exhaust products enables exhaust to be doubled, and payload, which depends exponentially upon exhaust velocity, can be increased manyfold; payload advantage becomes more significant as mission energy requirements are increased, because nuclear-propelled vehicles require less gross weight and fewer stages than equivalent chemical rockets. (19139)
Nuclear propulsion for space vehicles
Annu Rev Nucl Sci
Annual Review of Nuclear Science ; 18 ; p 203-228
1968
26 pages
Aufsatz (Zeitschrift)
Elektronische Ressource
Englisch
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Space maintenance of nuclear rocket propulsion vehicles
Engineering Index Backfile | 1963
|TIBKAT | 1965
|NTIS | 2021
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