General Atomics Electromagnetic Systems (GA-EMS) announced that it has become the first to test nuclear rocket fuel under conditions as close to operational conditions as possible. Nuclear fuel assemblies were exposed to an aggressive hydrogen environment on the stand when heated to 2326 °C for 20 minutes. During this time, the nuclear rocket engine operates during acceleration and, accordingly, creates a maximum load on the fuel. GA-EMS did not melt and remained intact.
Image source: GA-EMS
It is known that the US military, as part of the DARPA DRACO program, signed a contract with Lockheed Martin in the amount of $499 million to develop a rocket powered by a nuclear thermal engine (NTP). Such an engine operates by heating the working fluid supplied to the active chamber of the reactor. Hydrogen was chosen as the working fluid. The nuclear fission reaction will heat the hydrogen, and use its release from the nozzle to create jet thrust. Nuclear fuel under such conditions will be exposed to the aggressive effects of superheated hydrogen, and it is necessary to know in advance how long it can remain operational.
Testing was conducted at the CFEET facility at NASA’s Marshall Space Flight Center (MSFC). According to GA-EMS, the company is not aware of other cases of such verification – they were the first. At the stand, the fuel was subjected to six 20-minute thermal cycles. Each cycle corresponds to the full thrust mode of a thermal nuclear engine. At the same time, hydrogen heated to 2326 °C was supplied to the chamber with fuel. The check showed that after all the tests, the fuel assemblies were undamaged and had no defects.
«The recent test results are an important milestone in the successful demonstration of the NTP reactor fuel design,” said Scott Forney, president of GA-EMS. “The fuel must withstand the extreme high temperatures and exposure to hot hydrogen gas that an NTP reactor typically encounters when operating in space. We are very encouraged by the positive test results, which prove that the fuel can withstand these operating conditions, bringing us closer to realizing the potential of safe and reliable nuclear thermal engines for missions to the Moon and deep space.”
The potential of nuclear rocket engines is such that it will allow one to reach Mars in 45 days, while a rocket using a classic liquid rocket engine will take 6–7 months to reach the Red Planet, which, frankly speaking, is extremely dangerous for the health of the crew. Reducing travel time promises to fundamentally change the approach to space missions.