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  • No, NASA isn't scared of nuclear after all

    From Quadibloc@21:1/5 to All on Wed Jan 25 14:04:33 2023
    Just saw this on Ars Technica:

    https://arstechnica.com/science/2023/01/nasa-will-join-a-military-program-to-develop-nuclear-thermal-propulsion/

    NASA is becoming involved in the DARPA DRACO project to develop nuclear
    thermal propulsion, as they see it as being potentially very useful for
    space missions.

    John Savard

    --- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05
    * Origin: fsxNet Usenet Gateway (21:1/5)
  • From Chris L Peterson@21:1/5 to jsavard@ecn.ab.ca on Thu Jan 26 08:39:26 2023
    On Wed, 25 Jan 2023 14:04:33 -0800 (PST), Quadibloc
    <jsavard@ecn.ab.ca> wrote:

    Just saw this on Ars Technica:

    https://arstechnica.com/science/2023/01/nasa-will-join-a-military-program-to-develop-nuclear-thermal-propulsion/

    NASA is becoming involved in the DARPA DRACO project to develop nuclear >thermal propulsion, as they see it as being potentially very useful for
    space missions.

    Of course, they never were scared of nuclear. They just take a
    rational approach to its use.

    --- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05
    * Origin: fsxNet Usenet Gateway (21:1/5)
  • From RichA@21:1/5 to Quadibloc on Thu Jan 26 21:13:15 2023
    On Wednesday, 25 January 2023 at 17:04:34 UTC-5, Quadibloc wrote:
    Just saw this on Ars Technica:

    https://arstechnica.com/science/2023/01/nasa-will-join-a-military-program-to-develop-nuclear-thermal-propulsion/

    NASA is becoming involved in the DARPA DRACO project to develop nuclear thermal propulsion, as they see it as being potentially very useful for
    space missions.

    John Savard

    They need reactors to breed more plutonium. Or, they can just write off the outer solar system.

    --- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05
    * Origin: fsxNet Usenet Gateway (21:1/5)
  • From Chris L Peterson@21:1/5 to All on Fri Jan 27 01:19:04 2023
    On Thu, 26 Jan 2023 21:13:15 -0800 (PST), RichA <rander3128@gmail.com>
    wrote:

    On Wednesday, 25 January 2023 at 17:04:34 UTC-5, Quadibloc wrote:
    Just saw this on Ars Technica:

    https://arstechnica.com/science/2023/01/nasa-will-join-a-military-program-to-develop-nuclear-thermal-propulsion/

    NASA is becoming involved in the DARPA DRACO project to develop nuclear
    thermal propulsion, as they see it as being potentially very useful for
    space missions.

    John Savard

    They need reactors to breed more plutonium. Or, they can just write off the outer solar system.

    NTP engines rely on uranium fueled fission reactors.

    --- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05
    * Origin: fsxNet Usenet Gateway (21:1/5)
  • From Quadibloc@21:1/5 to Chris L Peterson on Fri Jan 27 05:57:58 2023
    On Friday, January 27, 2023 at 1:19:08 AM UTC-7, Chris L Peterson wrote:
    On Thu, 26 Jan 2023 21:13:15 -0800 (PST), RichA <rande...@gmail.com>
    wrote:

    They need reactors to breed more plutonium. Or, they can just write off the outer solar system.

    NTP engines rely on uranium fueled fission reactors.

    Uranium is a non-renewable resource, and enriching uranium by separating
    its isotopes is an energy-intensive process, so the use of uranium should be kept to a minimum: wherever possible, only U-233 bred from Th-232,
    or Pu-239 bred from U-238, should be used.

    John Savard

    --- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05
    * Origin: fsxNet Usenet Gateway (21:1/5)
  • From Chris L Peterson@21:1/5 to jsavard@ecn.ab.ca on Fri Jan 27 07:40:33 2023
    On Fri, 27 Jan 2023 05:57:58 -0800 (PST), Quadibloc
    <jsavard@ecn.ab.ca> wrote:

    On Friday, January 27, 2023 at 1:19:08 AM UTC-7, Chris L Peterson wrote:
    On Thu, 26 Jan 2023 21:13:15 -0800 (PST), RichA <rande...@gmail.com>
    wrote:

    They need reactors to breed more plutonium. Or, they can just write off the outer solar system.

    NTP engines rely on uranium fueled fission reactors.

    Uranium is a non-renewable resource, and enriching uranium by separating
    its isotopes is an energy-intensive process, so the use of uranium should be >kept to a minimum: wherever possible, only U-233 bred from Th-232,
    or Pu-239 bred from U-238, should be used.

    It's still a non-renewable resource. The current design calls for
    conventional uranium fission reactors, presumably because it's
    simplest and doesn't require more complex reactors down here to
    produce the fuel.

    --- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05
    * Origin: fsxNet Usenet Gateway (21:1/5)
  • From Chris L Peterson@21:1/5 to All on Fri Jan 27 16:16:56 2023
    On Fri, 27 Jan 2023 14:39:07 -0800 (PST), RichA <rander3128@gmail.com>
    wrote:

    On Friday, 27 January 2023 at 03:19:08 UTC-5, Chris L Peterson wrote:
    On Thu, 26 Jan 2023 21:13:15 -0800 (PST), RichA <rande...@gmail.com>
    wrote:
    On Wednesday, 25 January 2023 at 17:04:34 UTC-5, Quadibloc wrote:
    Just saw this on Ars Technica:

    https://arstechnica.com/science/2023/01/nasa-will-join-a-military-program-to-develop-nuclear-thermal-propulsion/

    NASA is becoming involved in the DARPA DRACO project to develop nuclear >> >> thermal propulsion, as they see it as being potentially very useful for >> >> space missions.

    John Savard

    They need reactors to breed more plutonium. Or, they can just write off the outer solar system.
    NTP engines rely on uranium fueled fission reactors.

    Those are engines. I'm just talking about RTG's which are nothing more than heaters. They've been bandying about the idea of nuclear propulsion since the late 1940's. Nothing has come of it.

    The article isn't about RTGs.

    --- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05
    * Origin: fsxNet Usenet Gateway (21:1/5)
  • From RichA@21:1/5 to Chris L Peterson on Fri Jan 27 14:39:07 2023
    On Friday, 27 January 2023 at 03:19:08 UTC-5, Chris L Peterson wrote:
    On Thu, 26 Jan 2023 21:13:15 -0800 (PST), RichA <rande...@gmail.com>
    wrote:
    On Wednesday, 25 January 2023 at 17:04:34 UTC-5, Quadibloc wrote:
    Just saw this on Ars Technica:

    https://arstechnica.com/science/2023/01/nasa-will-join-a-military-program-to-develop-nuclear-thermal-propulsion/

    NASA is becoming involved in the DARPA DRACO project to develop nuclear
    thermal propulsion, as they see it as being potentially very useful for
    space missions.

    John Savard

    They need reactors to breed more plutonium. Or, they can just write off the outer solar system.
    NTP engines rely on uranium fueled fission reactors.

    Those are engines. I'm just talking about RTG's which are nothing more than heaters. They've been bandying about the idea of nuclear propulsion since the late 1940's. Nothing has come of it.

    --- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05
    * Origin: fsxNet Usenet Gateway (21:1/5)
  • From RichA@21:1/5 to Chris L Peterson on Sat Jan 28 21:20:39 2023
    On Friday, 27 January 2023 at 18:17:00 UTC-5, Chris L Peterson wrote:
    On Fri, 27 Jan 2023 14:39:07 -0800 (PST), RichA <rande...@gmail.com>
    wrote:

    On Friday, 27 January 2023 at 03:19:08 UTC-5, Chris L Peterson wrote:
    On Thu, 26 Jan 2023 21:13:15 -0800 (PST), RichA <rande...@gmail.com>
    wrote:
    On Wednesday, 25 January 2023 at 17:04:34 UTC-5, Quadibloc wrote:
    Just saw this on Ars Technica:

    https://arstechnica.com/science/2023/01/nasa-will-join-a-military-program-to-develop-nuclear-thermal-propulsion/

    NASA is becoming involved in the DARPA DRACO project to develop nuclear >> >> thermal propulsion, as they see it as being potentially very useful for >> >> space missions.

    John Savard

    They need reactors to breed more plutonium. Or, they can just write off the outer solar system.
    NTP engines rely on uranium fueled fission reactors.

    Those are engines. I'm just talking about RTG's which are nothing more than heaters. They've been bandying about the idea of nuclear propulsion since the late 1940's. Nothing has come of it.
    The article isn't about RTGs.

    Far distant tech, could die just like the NERVA rocket did in the 1950's. Or Project Orion, thanks to WEAK-willed politicians. In the meantime, probes need RTGs.

    --- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05
    * Origin: fsxNet Usenet Gateway (21:1/5)
  • From Chris L Peterson@21:1/5 to All on Sun Jan 29 07:25:55 2023
    On Sat, 28 Jan 2023 21:20:39 -0800 (PST), RichA <rander3128@gmail.com>
    wrote:

    On Friday, 27 January 2023 at 18:17:00 UTC-5, Chris L Peterson wrote:
    On Fri, 27 Jan 2023 14:39:07 -0800 (PST), RichA <rande...@gmail.com>
    wrote:

    On Friday, 27 January 2023 at 03:19:08 UTC-5, Chris L Peterson wrote:
    On Thu, 26 Jan 2023 21:13:15 -0800 (PST), RichA <rande...@gmail.com>
    wrote:
    On Wednesday, 25 January 2023 at 17:04:34 UTC-5, Quadibloc wrote:
    Just saw this on Ars Technica:

    https://arstechnica.com/science/2023/01/nasa-will-join-a-military-program-to-develop-nuclear-thermal-propulsion/

    NASA is becoming involved in the DARPA DRACO project to develop nuclear
    thermal propulsion, as they see it as being potentially very useful for
    space missions.

    John Savard

    They need reactors to breed more plutonium. Or, they can just write off the outer solar system.
    NTP engines rely on uranium fueled fission reactors.

    Those are engines. I'm just talking about RTG's which are nothing more than heaters. They've been bandying about the idea of nuclear propulsion since the late 1940's. Nothing has come of it.
    The article isn't about RTGs.

    Far distant tech, could die just like the NERVA rocket did in the 1950's. Or Project Orion, thanks to WEAK-willed politicians. In the meantime, probes need RTGs.


    The probes that need them have them.

    --- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05
    * Origin: fsxNet Usenet Gateway (21:1/5)