Pebblebed NTRs: Solid Fuel, but Different
Hello, and welcome back to Beyond NERVA! Today, we’re going to take a break from the closed cycle gas core nuclear thermal rocket (which I’ve been working on constantly since mid-January) to look at one of the most popular designs in modern NTR history: the pebblebed reactor! This I should have covered between solid and […]
The Nuclear Lightbulb – A Brief Introduction
Hello, and welcome back to Beyond NERVA! Really quickly, I apologize that I haven’t published more recently. Between moving to a different state, job hunting, and the challenges we’re all facing with the current medical situation worldwide, this post is coming out later than I was hoping. I have been continuing to work in the […]
Radiator LNTR: The Last of the Line
Hello, and welcome back to Beyond NERVA! Today, we’re finishing (for now) our in-depth look at liquid fueled nuclear thermal rockets, by looking at the second major type of liquid NTR (LNTR): the radiator-type LNTR. If you’re just joining us, make sure to check out the introduction (available here) and the bubbler post (available here) […]
The Bubbler: Liquid NTRs Without Barriers
Hello, and welcome back to Beyond NERVA! Today, we continue our look at liquid fueled nuclear thermal rockets (LNTRs), with a deep dive into the first of the two main types: what I call the bubbler LNTR. This potentially attractive form of advanced NTR is a design that has been largely forgotten in the history […]
Topaz International part II: The Transition to Collaboration
Hello, and welcome back to Beyond NERVA! Before we begin, I would like to announce that our Patreon page, at https://www.patreon.com/beyondnerva, is live! This blog consumes a considerable amount of my time, and being able to pay my bills is of critical importance to me. If you are able to support me, please consider doing […]
US Astro-nuclear History part 2: SNAP-8, NASA’s Space Station Power Supply
Hello, and welcome back to Beyond NERVA! As some of you may have noticed, the website has moved! Yes, we’re now at beyondnerva.com! I’m working on updating the webpage, and am getting the pieces together for a major website redesign (still a ways off, but lots of the pieces are starting to fall into place) […]
History of US Astronuclear Reactors part 1: SNAP-2 and 10A
Hello, and welcome to Beyond NERVA! Today we’re going to look at the program that birthed the first astronuclear reactor to go into orbit, although the extent of the program far exceeds the flight record of a single launch. Before we get into that, I have a minor administrative announcement that will develop into major […]
Electric Propulsion Part 1: Thermal and Magnetoplasmadynamic Thrusters
Hello, and welcome back to Beyond NERVA! My apologies for the delay in this post, electric propulsion is not one of my strong points, so I spent a lot of extra time on research and in discussion with people who are more knowledgeable than I am on this subject. Special thanks to both Roland A. […]
Electric Propulsion: The Oldest “Futuristic” Propulsion Possibility
Hello, and welcome back to Beyond NERVA. Today, we are looking at a very popular topic, but one that doesn’t necessarily require nuclear power: electric propulsion. However, it IS an area that nuclear power plants are often tied to, because the amount of thrust available is highly dependent on the amount of power available for […]
Carbides: Nuclear Thermal Fuels of the Past and Future
Hello, and welcome to Beyond NERVA! Today, we’re looking at a different kind of fuel element than the ones we’ve been examining so far on this blog, one that promises higher operation temperatures and therefore more efficient NTRs: carbide fuel elements. We’ll also look at a few different options for NTR designs using carbide fuels: […]