Views : 393,353
Genre: Science & Technology
Date of upload: Feb 4, 2023 ^^
Rating : 4.785 (569/9,996 LTDR)
RYD date created : 2024-05-21T07:25:54.217661Z
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Top Comments of this video!! :3
9:20 The nuclei are bombarded by "Neutrons", not "Electrons". It is shown correctly in the video but narrated incorrectly.
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I would like to see Starship go to orbit under normal propulsion, then settle into a "framework", consisting of the nuclear engine(s), and fuel tanks. Once locked in, this setup could take them to Mars, or beyond, and still give them normal engines for landing, while saving fuel. Such a setup could be refueled from a tanker-style Starship, for repeated use.
Use of a combined-cycle nuclear thermal engine, with the exhaust being hyper-accelerated through a Hall Effect thruster, might give the performance needed for long voyages, in a reasonable amount of time...
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The thing to consider on the timeline is that they aren't developing completely new technologies. They're taking existing ones and integrating them in a new way. As an integration project a five year timeline seems far more reasonable than, say, developing an entirely new engine using unproven theory.
If anything delays this project it won't be the science. It may be the engineering (see the delays in the Blue Origin BE4 or Boeing Starliner) but it's most likely to be political and regulatory. With DARPA involved that will smooth a lot of political problems though which may well be why they've gotten involved.
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There's no question that a nuclear rocket engine would be a boon to space travel. Faster speeds, greater range, less consumables required for manned flight etc. etc. etc. ... However... Making a nuclear engine that works as advertised is the hard part. How heavy would a nuclear reaction engine be? How expensive is the Uranium and/or Plutonium required for the engine? How do you contain the constant 2700C degrees the engine operates at? How much thrust can such an engine produce, is it enough for launch or only for travel once orbit is achieved? All these questions have to be answered and engineering solutions have to be found, and yes, it IS rocket science and the rewards are there, but is it possible??? Time will tell.
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The ability to design and test a nuclear engine was Preformed in the late 60's and early 70's, so hopefully they still have the technology. Basically the only thing DARPA needs to do is update the existing design and manufacture it for a interplanetary vessel. A nuclear engine could do two things. First it could get us to Mars in about 30 days and Jupiter in a few months. This should open up exploration to objects past the Moon like Starship (by Spacex) will hopefully do to getting large payloads into orbit. Secondly, the nuclear engine will provide enough thrust to maintain a 1g acceleration to provide artificial gravity.
It is looking like we just might have a good chance of having a bright future in space! And I believe that this push for development is a direct result of China trying to do the same. Because the USSR was the main reason we landed on the Moon. Now with China trying to get the ability to out perform the USA, as a result we in the United States have taken the challenge and are in competition once again.
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@TheSpaceRaceYT
1 year ago
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