Over forty years have passed since President John F. Kennedy spoke of making "a jump forward" in space. Abandoned because of nuclear politics of the Cold War yesteryear, the US National Aeronautics and Space Administration is again re-thinking nuclear powered deep-space rocket propulsion.
Nuclear concepts are centered on two main fission-based methods: nuclear electric propulsion (NEP) and nuclear thermal propulsion (NTP). Both are suitable for unrestricted deep-space missions because of high thrust per unit mass of propellant consumed (specific impulse or ISP), according to a report in Aviation Week.
University of Illinois professor George H. Miley has sought to advance fusion propulsion systems the past few years. The Next Big Future blog summarized Dr. Miley's efforts this past summer. Meanwhile, Russian space officials are being encouraged to advance nuclear propulsion technologies.
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