By Theresa Hitchens, Published by Breaking Defense, 19 April 2021 WASHINGTON: DARPA’s effort to develop nuclear ‘engines’ for far-roving satellites also hopes to demonstrate the capability to keep “timely” tabs on spacecraft operating near the Moon, says program manager Maj. Nathan Greiner. While cislunar surveillance doesn’t require nuclear-propulsion, such a
By Christen Mccurdy, Published by Space Daily, 15 April 2021 Washington DC (UPI) - The Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency awarded three contracts this week to design a nuclear thermal propulsion system that will operate above low Earth orbit in 2025. General Atomics, Blue Origin, and Lockheed Martin are the
By Sandra Erwin, Published by Space News, 10 April 2021 General Atomics' Christina Back: Nuclear thermal propulsion “will enable spacecraft to travel immense distances quickly” WASHINGTON — The Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency awarded a $22 million contract to General Atomics to design a small nuclear reactor for space propulsion,
By Karl Grossman, Published in Fair, 25 February 2021 ABC (2/22/21) had one of many reports that celebrated the Mars landing without noting that the rover was powered by plutonium—or the risks NASA had taken in launching that payload into space. With all the media hoopla last week about the
By Karl Grossman, Published by Free Press, 24 February 2021 With all the media hoopla last week about the Perseverance rover, frequently unreported was that its energy source is plutonium—considered the most lethal of all radioactive substances—and nowhere in media that NASA projected 1-in-960 odds of the plutonium being released
The Kosmos 954 satellite burned up upon reentry, scattering radioactive debris across northern Canada (Screenshot via YouTube) By Karl Grossman, Published in Independent Australia, 18 February 2021 Nuclear-powered space technology risks causing further damage to our planet and is an unnecessary expense when we have higher priorities, writes Karl Grossman.
By Karl Grossman, Published in Free Press, 17 February 2021 A report advocating rocket propulsion by nuclear power for U.S. missions to Mars, written by a committee packed with individuals deeply involved in nuclear power, was issued last week by the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering and Medicine. The 104-page
By Karl Grossman, Published in Counter Punch, 16 February 2021 A report advocating rocket propulsion by nuclear power for U.S. missions to Mars, written by a committee packed with individuals deeply involved in nuclear power, was issued last week by the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering and Medicine. The 104-page
