NASA Advocates for Nuclear-Powered Spacecraft Written 25 October 2021
Artist's rendering of a Bimodal Nuclear Thermal Transfer Vehicle "Copernicus" in LEO | Credit: John Frassanito & Associates/NASA; Wikipedia; Public Domain
SPACE reported NASA and aerospace experts “discussed how the U.S. stacks up against other nations when it comes to developing new nuclear propulsion technology” at a House of Representatives hearing last week. NASA Budget and Finance Senior Advisor Bhavya Lal said, “Strategic competitors including China are aggressively investing in a wide range of space technologies, including nuclear power and propulsion. The United States needs to move at a fast pace to stay competitive and to remain a leader in the global space community.” NASA “has previously discussed how nuclear propulsion technology could allow the agency to send humans to Mars more quickly than by using traditional chemical rockets.”
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