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Nuclear Power In Space
Nuclear power in space is the use of nuclear power in outer space, typically either small nuclear fission, fission systems or radioactive decay for electricity or heat. Another use is for scientific observation, as in a Mössbauer spectrometer. The most common type is a radioisotope thermoelectric generator, which has been used on many space probes and on crewed lunar missions. Small fission reactors for Earth observation satellites, such as the TOPAZ nuclear reactor, have also been flown. A radioisotope heater unit is powered by radioactive decay and can keep components from becoming too cold to function, potentially over a span of decades. The United States tested the SNAP-10A nuclear reactor in space for 43 days in 1965, with the next test of a nuclear reactor power system intended for space use occurring on 13 September 2012 with the Demonstration Using Flattop Fission (DUFF) test of the Kilopower reactor. After a ground-based test of the experimental 1965 Romashka reactor, w ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Kiwi A Fire-up
Kiwi most commonly refers to: * Kiwi (bird), a flightless bird native to New Zealand * Kiwi (nickname), an informal name for New Zealanders * Kiwifruit, an edible hairy fruit with many seeds * Kiwi dollar or New Zealand dollar, a unit of currency Kiwi or KIWI may also refer to: Arts and entertainment Comics * ''Kiwi Blitz'', a 2009 webcomic by Mary Cagle Music * Kiwi (band), a girl group from Mongolia * Kiwi (song), "Kiwi" (song), a 2017 song by Harry Styles * "Kiwi", a 2007 song by Maroon 5 from ''It Won't Be Soon Before Long'' Radio and film * KIWI, a radio station in California, U.S., currently branded as Radio Lobo * Kiwi FM, a New Zealand radio network * ''Kiwi!'', a 2006 short animated film Science and technology * .kiwi, an Internet top-level domain * KIWI (openSUSE), image software * KIWI, a testbed prototype of the nuclear thermal rocket * Kiwi Farms, an Internet forum * Kiwi IRC, an Internet Relay Chat#Clients, Internet Relay Chat software client * Kiwi vacuum e ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Nuclear Electric Rocket
A nuclear electric rocket (more properly nuclear electric propulsion) is a type of spacecraft propulsion system where thermal energy from a nuclear reactor is converted to electrical energy, which is used to drive an ion thruster or other electrical spacecraft propulsion technology. The nuclear electric rocket terminology is slightly inconsistent, as technically the "rocket" part of the propulsion system is non-nuclear and could also be driven by solar panels. This is in contrast with a nuclear thermal rocket, which directly uses reactor heat to add energy to a working fluid, which is then expelled out of a rocket nozzle. Conceptual overview The key elements to NEP are: # A compact reactor core # An electric generator # A compact waste heat rejection system such as heat pipes # An electric power conditioning and distribution system # Electrically powered spacecraft propulsion History United States SNAP-10A, launched into orbit by USAF in 1965, was the first use of a nuclear reac ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Transit (satellite)
The Transit system, also known as NAVSAT or NNSS (for ''Navy Navigation Satellite System''), was the first satellite navigation system to be used operationally. The radio navigation system was primarily used by the U.S. Navy to provide accurate location information to its UGM-27 Polaris, Polaris ballistic missile submarines, and it was also used as a navigation system by the Navy's surface ships, as well as for hydrographic survey and geodetic surveying. Transit provided continuous navigation satellite service from 1964, initially for Polaris submarines and later for civilian use as well. In the Project DAMP Program, the missile tracking ship USAS American Mariner also used data from the satellite for precise ship's location information prior to positioning its tracking radars. History The Transit satellite system, sponsored by the Navy and developed jointly by DARPA and the Johns Hopkins Applied Physics Laboratory, under the leadership of Dr. Richard Kershner at Johns Hop ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Thor-Ablestar
The Thor-Ablestar, or Thor-Able-Star, also known as Thor-Epsilon was an early American expendable launch system consisting of a PGM-17 Thor missile, with an Ablestar upper stage. It was a member of the Thor family of rockets, and was derived from the Thor-Able. The Ablestar second stage was an enlarged version of the Able, which gave the Thor-Ablestar a greater payload capacity compared to the Thor-Able. It also incorporated restart capabilities, allowing a multiple-burn trajectory to be flown, further increasing payload, or allowing the rocket to reach different orbits. It was the first rocket to be developed with such a capability and development of the stage took a mere eight months. Two versions were built; the Thor-Ablestar 1, with a DM-21 Thor and an AJ-10-104 second stage engine, and the Thor-Ablestar 2, which had a DSV-2A Thor first stage, and an uprated AJ-10-104D engine on the second stage. Thor-Ablestar 1 launches occurred from LC-17 at Cape Canaveral, and Thor-Ab ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
NASA
The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA ) is an independent agencies of the United States government, independent agency of the federal government of the United States, US federal government responsible for the United States's civil list of government space agencies, space program, aeronautics research and outer space, space research. National Aeronautics and Space Act, Established in 1958, it succeeded the National Advisory Committee for Aeronautics (NACA) to give the American space development effort a distinct civilian orientation, emphasizing peaceful applications in space science. It has since led most of America's space exploration programs, including Project Mercury, Project Gemini, the 1968–1972 Apollo program missions, the Skylab space station, and the Space Shuttle. Currently, NASA supports the International Space Station (ISS) along with the Commercial Crew Program and oversees the development of the Orion (spacecraft), Orion spacecraft and the Sp ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Plutonium-238
Plutonium-238 ( or Pu-238) is a radioactive isotope of plutonium that has a half-life of 87.7 years. Plutonium-238 is a very powerful alpha emitter; as alpha particles are easily blocked, this makes the plutonium-238 isotope suitable for usage in radioisotope thermoelectric generators (RTGs) and radioisotope heater units. The density of plutonium-238 at room temperature is about 19.8 g/cc. The material will generate about 0.57 watts per gram of 238Pu. The bare sphere critical mass of metallic plutonium-238 is not precisely known, but its calculated range is between 9.04 and 10.07 kilograms. History Initial production Plutonium-238 was the first isotope of plutonium to be discovered. It was synthesized by Glenn Seaborg and his associates in December 1940 by bombarding uranium-238 with deuterons, creating neptunium-238. + → + 2 The neptunium isotope then undergoes β− decay to plutonium-238, with a half-life of 2.12 days: → + + Plutonium-238 natu ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Outer Space Treaty
The Outer Space Treaty, formally the Treaty on Principles Governing the Activities of States in the Exploration and Use of Outer Space, including the Moon and Other Celestial Bodies, is a Multilateralism, multilateral treaty that forms the basis of international space law. Negotiated and drafted under the auspices of the United Nations Security Council, United Nations, it was opened for signature in the United States, the United Kingdom, and the Soviet Union on 27 January 1967, entering into force on 10 October 1967. , 116 countries are parties to the treaty—including all major space-faring nations, spacefaring nations—and another 22 are signatories. The Outer Space Treaty was spurred by the development of intercontinental ballistic missiles (ICBMs) in the 1950s, which could reach targets through outer space. The Soviet Union's launch of Sputnik 1, Sputnik, the first artificial satellite, in October 1957, followed by a subsequent arms race with the United States, hastened p ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Militarisation Of Space
The militarisation of space involved the placement and development of weaponry and military technology in outer space. The early exploration of space in the mid-20th century had, in part, a military motivation, as the United States and the Soviet Union used it as an opportunity to demonstrate ballistic-missile technology and other technologies having the potential for military application. Outer space has since been used as an operating location for military satellite, military spacecraft such as imaging satellite, imaging and communications satellites, and some ballistic missiles pass through outer space during their flight. , known deployments of weapons stationed in space include only the Almaz#Defense measures, Almaz space-station armament and pistols such as the TP-82 Cosmonaut survival pistol (for post-landing, pre-recovery use). History The Cold War During the Cold War, the world's two great superpowers—the Soviet Union and the United States, United States of America ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Nimbus B RTG On The Ocean Floor
Nimbus, from the Latin for "dark cloud", is an outdated term for the type of cloud now classified as the nimbostratus cloud. Nimbus also may refer to: Arts and entertainment * Halo (religious iconography), also known as ''Nimbus'', a ring of light surrounding a person in a piece of art * ''Nimbus'' (literary magazine), published in London (1951–58) * Nimbus 2000, a flying broom from the ''Harry Potter'' series * ''Nimbus'', a spaceship captained by Zapp Brannigan in the animated series ''Futurama'' * Nimbus III, a planet in the movie '' Star Trek V: The Final Frontier'' * Nimbus, a character in the video game ''Tornado Outbreak'' * Nimbus, a type of guided missile in the video game '' Ace Combat 6: Fires of Liberation'' * Nimbus, a flying cloud from the ''Dragon Ball'' series * Mr. Nimbus, Rick's arch-nemesis in the series ''Rick and Morty'' *"Nimbus", a song by 808 State featured on their 1992 single "Timebomb" and also featured on their 1993 album '' Gorgeous'' *Nimbus, a 201 ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Project Orion (nuclear Propulsion)
Project Orion was a study conducted in the 1950s and 1960s by the United States Air Force, DARPA, and NASA into the viability of a nuclear pulse spaceship that would be directly propelled by a series of atomic explosions behind the craft. Following preliminary ideas in the 1940s, and a classified paper co-authored by physicist Stanisław Ulam in 1955, ARPA agreed to sponsor and fund the program in July 1958. Early versions of the vehicle were designed for ground launch, but later versions were intended for use only in space. The design effort took place at General Atomics in San Diego, and supporters included Wernher von Braun, who issued a white paper advocating the idea. NASA also created a Mars mission profile based on the design, proposing a 125 day round trip carrying eight astronauts with a predicted development cost of $1.5 billion. Non-nuclear tests were conducted with models, with the most successful test occurring in late 1959, but the project was ultimately ab ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Nuclear Pulse Propulsion
Nuclear pulse propulsion or external pulsed plasma propulsion is a hypothetical method of spacecraft propulsion that uses nuclear explosions for thrust. It originated as Project ''Orion'' with support from DARPA, after a suggestion by Stanislaw Ulam in 1947. Newer designs using inertial confinement fusion have been the baseline for most later designs, including Project ''Daedalus'' and Project ''Longshot''. History Los Alamos Calculations for a potential use of this technology were made at the laboratory from and toward the close of the 1940s to the mid-1950s. Project Orion Project Orion was the first serious attempt to design a nuclear pulse rocket. A design was formed at General Atomics during the late 1950s and early 1960s, with the idea of reacting small directional nuclear explosives utilizing a variant of the Teller–Ulam two-stage bomb design against a large steel pusher plate attached to the spacecraft with shock absorbers. Efficient directional explosives maxi ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
NERVA
Nerva (; born Marcus Cocceius Nerva; 8 November 30 – 27 January 98) was a Roman emperor from 96 to 98. Nerva became emperor when aged almost 66, after a lifetime of imperial service under Nero and the succeeding rulers of the Flavian dynasty. Under Nero, he was a member of the imperial entourage and played a vital part in exposing the Pisonian conspiracy of 65. Later, as a loyalist to the Flavians, he attained Roman consul, consulships in 71 and 90 during the reigns of Vespasian and Domitian, respectively. On 18 September 96, Domitian was assassinated in a palace conspiracy involving members of the Praetorian Guard and several of his freedman, freedmen. On the same day, Nerva was declared emperor by the Roman Senate. As the new ruler of the Roman Empire, he vowed to restore liberties which had been curtailed during the autocratic government of Domitian. Nerva's brief reign was marred by financial difficulties and his inability to assert his authority over the Roman army. A r ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
