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Related Topic: Nuclear Propulsion

GA delivers HALEU-fuelled reactor concept for Mars mission

GA delivers HALEU-fuelled reactor concept for Mars mission

A design concept for a nuclear thermal propulsion reactor to power future astronaut missions to Mars has exceeded key performance parameters and optimised the reactor for manufacturability, General Atomics Electromagnetic Systems has announced. The reactor's features include a compact core thanks to the use of high-assay low-enriched uranium fuel.
 
 

New Nuclear 17 September 2020

Nuclear power system delivered for Mars rover launch

Nuclear power system delivered for Mars rover launch

The US Department of Energy has delivered the nuclear power system for the Perseverance rover for NASA's Mars 2020 mission which is due to launch next month. The Multi-Mission Radioisotope Thermoelectric Generator was fuelled, built and tested by DOE's national laboratories.

New Nuclear 12 June 2020

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GA delivers HALEU-fuelled reactor concept for Mars mission

Nuclear power system delivered for Mars rover launch

UK generates usable electricity from americium

Nuclear and Stirling engines spur space exploration

NASA officials updated on nuclear thermal propulsion

Russia launches world's largest nuclear-powered icebreaker

Mars 2020 rover gets radioisotope fuel

Russia prepares for next icebreaker series

Small nuclear reactors for power and icebreaking

Russia prepares for next icebreaker series

Russia prepares for next icebreaker series

Rosatom subsidiary FSUE Atomflot and shipbuilder Zvezda LLC have signed a contract on the construction of the Leader nuclear icebreaker. Part of Project 10510 and the first LC-110 icebreaker to be built, Leader will be capable of breaking through ice more than 4.5 metres thick.

New Nuclear 24 April 2020

Russia plans next two nuclear icebreakers

Russia plans next two nuclear icebreakers

Atomenergomash, the engineering division of Russia’s Rosatom, has signed a contract for the supply of RITM-200 reactor units for two more nuclear icebreakers in Project 22220. The contract was signed between Atomenergomash subsidiary OKBM Afrikantov and the Baltic Shipyard.

New Nuclear 30 October 2019

First fuel from Lepse leaves Nerpa shipyard

First fuel from Lepse leaves Nerpa shipyard

The first containers of used nuclear fuel assemblies removed from the Lepse floating technical base at the Nerpa shipyard have been transported to Murmansk, Russia. The fuel is being removed under a programme managed by the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development and will be sent to Mayak for reprocessing.

Waste & Recycling 25 September 2019

Mars 2020 rover gets radioisotope fuel

Mars 2020 rover gets radioisotope fuel

Fuelling of a radioisotope-based power system for NASA's Mars 2020 rover has begun. The Multi-Mission Radioisotope Thermoelectric Generator - or MMRTG - uses heat from the natural radioactive decay of plutonium-238 to generate electricity as well as maintaining the rover's systems at the proper operating temperatures.

New Nuclear 01 August 2019

Russia launches world's largest nuclear-powered icebreaker

Russia launches world's largest nuclear-powered icebreaker

A ceremony was held on 25 May at the Baltic Shipyard in Saint Petersburg to mark the launch of the Ural nuclear-powered icebreaker. The 173 metre-long Ural is one of three vessels of Project 22220 - featuring RITM-200 reactors - that will be able to break through 3-meter-thick ice as they escort vessels across the Arctic Ocean.

New Nuclear 28 May 2019

UK generates usable electricity from americium

UK generates usable electricity from americium

The UK's National Nuclear Laboratory and University of Leicester have generated usable electricity from the chemical element americium in what it believes to be a global first. The achievement is seen as a step towards potential use of americium in so-called space batteries, which may mean future space missions can be powered for up to 400 years.

New Nuclear 03 May 2019

Decommissioning milestone for space fuel plant

Decommissioning milestone for space fuel plant

Equipment contaminated with plutonium from the manufacturing of fuel for deep space missions has been removed from the 235-F building at the US Department of Energy's Savannah River Site, marking a milestone in reducing risk at the South Carolina facility.

Waste & Recycling 01 November 2018

Russia completes second reactor for Ural icebreaker

Russia completes second reactor for Ural icebreaker

Zio-Podolsk, a subsidiary of Russian state nuclear corporation Rosatom, has dispatched the second reactor for the Ural nuclear-powered icebreaker under construction at the Baltic Shipyard in Saint Petersburg.

New Nuclear 18 October 2018