Why Nuclear powered spaceships are essential for interplanetary travel?

 Why Nuclear powered spaceships are essential for interplanetary travel?

Nuclear Propulsion

            Nuclear rockets could take us to Mars in 3 months compared to the 9-month journey by chemical rockets. These nuclear rockets are powered by nuclear propulsion.

            NASA has been studying nuclear propulsion back in the 50s, but due to lack of funding and fear from the public, this project is closed. But in 2019 NASA is awarded 190 million to study nuclear propulsion.

What's wrong with chemical rockets?

            Chemical Rockets are good in terms of space travel. They are much reliable and we have been using them for about 60 decades. 

            But with chemical Rockets, we use a lot of fuel just to send a small payload to orbit. They require precise plumbing, precise fuel, and oxygen insertion and they are not highly efficient.

            Nuclear-powered space ships could have much greater exhaust velocity and thrust which will enable us to travel faster in space

How exactly do nuclear-powered spaceships work?

Nuclear powered Spaceship

            Nuclear Rockets just basically send thermal energy to the propellant, thereby pushing it out of the nozzle. Nuclear Rockets can be classified into two; nuclear electric and nuclear thermal.   

            Nuclear thermal rockets work on the same principle as nuclear reactors. In the rocket engine, the thermal energy from the nuclear reactor radiates heat. This heat causes the hydrogen to expand at the back and then accelerates it providing thrust. By this method, we have an exhaust velocity of about 8 km/s. This is twice as compared to the chemical rockets. But storing hydrogen is a major issue.

            This is where nuclear electric rockets come in handy. They use ions to propel the spacecraft. Unlike hydrogen, storage is not a major issue in electric propulsion. They also have far better exhaust velocity.

Risks involved

            Since this is nuclear energy we are dealing with, there are a ton of risks involved

1. It should be safe and lightweight to carry aboard a rocket. This reactor has a temperature of about 2430 degrees celsius. In order to protect the crew and all other scientific experiments, radiation shielding should be required. The longer the exposure, the harder the shielding. This shielding will take up more mass.
2. As it travels through space, the heat from the reactor should be vented. To compensate for this, huge radiator fins are used to pass coolant.
3. As we said it has a very high core temperature. Specialized and complex fuel designs should be used specifically for this type of rocket.

Project Orion

Orion Spacecraft

        

            Project Orion is studied by NASA in 1957 to effectively use nuclear rockets. These Rockets use shock waves from minor nuclear bombs to propel themselves into space. There were some positive results but the project got canceled due to fear from the public.

            Once again in 2019, NASA has received about 190 million dollars to study nuclear propulsion.

Conclusion

            Mars is about 64 million kilometers away from Earth. It would take a chemical rocket 9 months to reach Mars but the same can be done by a nuclear Rocket in 3 months. So nuclear-powered space ships are inevitable for interplanetary travel. 

            In a few decades, We might see a huge advancement in the field of nuclear rockets. 

Are nuclear-powered space ships better?

 Are they safe? 

What do you think? 

Tell us in the comments