Apr 28 1976
From The Space Library
A model of a nuclear reactor developed by NASA for space applications, using a gaseous rather than a solid nuclear fuel, had begun tests at the Los Alamos Scientific Laboratory, NASA announced. A reactor using gaseous fuel could operate at temperatures that would melt solid fuel rods; the higher operating temperature would make the gaseous reactor potentially more efficient than conventional solid-core reactors. Also, the gaseous fuel would permit continuous reprocessing of the fuel, eliminating the need for a separate reprocessing plant required for solid fuel; the predicted efficiency would translate into reduced mass and weight in space applications. Nuclear-energized laser research by NASA indicated that power from a gaseous reactor could be generated as laser beams, offering the prospect of a new space technology by which energy from a nuclear-power station in space might be transmitted over large distances, using laser beams, to users on space platforms, lunar bases, or space ships for propulsion. The tests were designed to use hardware salvaged from an earlier NASA-Atomic Energy Commission nuclear rocket program. (NASA Release 76-76)
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