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MARSHALL SPACE FLIGHT CENTER AND THE REACTOR-IN-FLIGHT STAGE: A LOOK BACK AT USING NUCLEAR PROPULSION TO POWER SPACE VEHICLES IN THE 1960's
| Content Provider | Semantic Scholar |
|---|---|
| Author | Wright, Mike |
| Copyright Year | 2003 |
| Abstract | ABSTRACT ~ This paper examines the Marshall Space Flight Center’s role in the Reactor-In-Flight (RIlT) project that NASA was involved with in the early 1960’s. The paper outlines the project’s relation to the joint NASA-Atomic Energy Commission nuclear initiative known as Project Rover. It describes the justification for the RIFT project, its scope, and the difficulties that were encountered during the project. It also provides as assessment of NASA’s overall capabilities related to nuclear propulsion in the early 1960’s. INTRODUCTION Ideas about harnessing nuclear energy to propel everything from cars to locomotives to rockets have been around for more than 50 yr. In May 1940, The Boston Globe ran the headline: “Just add cold water, fly to the stratosphere. One pill of U-235, miracle substance just announced, would drive an automobile for a ye ar...” Six years later, The Associated Press reported that the “The Buffalo Machinery Co. eventually expected to power locomotives from coast to coast at a cost of less then $1.” After ‘World War 11, engineers began serious studies regarding how to propel rockets using nuclear propulsion. In June 1946, the Division of Reactor Development for the Atomic Energy Commission (AEC) asked the Applied Physics Laboratory (APL) of The Johns Hopkins University to study the feasibility of nuclear propulsion. Six months later the APL concluded that a nuclear rocket was feasible, but expressed concern over the associated technology problems and expense. In the early 1950’s, Wernher von Braun and co-author Willy Ley wrote, “it is entirely possible.. |
| File Format | PDF HTM / HTML |
| Alternate Webpage(s) | https://ntrs.nasa.gov/archive/nasa/casi.ntrs.nasa.gov/20030066010.pdf |
| Language | English |
| Access Restriction | Open |
| Content Type | Text |
| Resource Type | Article |
