My point is that if sealed self contained NTR cores could be built, then private ownership, and eventually possibly homebuilt launchers could become possible. I was NOT talking about home-building the reactor just as most homebuilt airplane makers don't build their own engines.
Legality aside, I would never attempt to build a reactor without being a nuclear engineer, and realistically, considering the laws, I would never do it at all.
These tiny sealed electric-power reactors do exist. I mis-remembered the point to which they were used but many isolated communities are looking at them, and some may be installed already, and will be in about 5 years.
Although NERVA had low thrust, DUMBO had much higher thrust to weight ratio, by far. And some other less developed NTR ideas have even better t/w.
One solution to the overly heavy LH2 tank problem is to use methane fuel. The specific impulse is not as good but much better than methane/lox chemical. (because the methane decomposes. Artificial dense decomposing fuels might be even better) The soot cloggup is a problem though. Maybe a stirred pebble bed reactor? Or puffs of oxygen, a bit like a LANTR?
The person who came up with the Liberty Ship seems to think that nuclear lightbulbs can have greater than 1 t/w. He might be wrong.
Just a thought: What if the fuel was solid, like frozen methane, that was heated and melted into the reactor? This is probably more for interplanetary travel, but it means very light tanks, or none at all. The "push up popsicle rocket".
Zubrin has an idea for a nuclear, lox-afterburning aerospiked SSTO.
Is there + any electric propulsion capable of earth liftoff? Or any other near term tech besides NTRs? (I'm counting strictly rockets, scramjets, etc. Not space elevators and the like)
Do you think that the autonomous sealed reactor could be applied to NTR cores?
Legality aside, I would never attempt to build a reactor without being a nuclear engineer, and realistically, considering the laws, I would never do it at all.
These tiny sealed electric-power reactors do exist. I mis-remembered the point to which they were used but many isolated communities are looking at them, and some may be installed already, and will be in about 5 years.
Although NERVA had low thrust, DUMBO had much higher thrust to weight ratio, by far. And some other less developed NTR ideas have even better t/w.
One solution to the overly heavy LH2 tank problem is to use methane fuel. The specific impulse is not as good but much better than methane/lox chemical. (because the methane decomposes. Artificial dense decomposing fuels might be even better) The soot cloggup is a problem though. Maybe a stirred pebble bed reactor? Or puffs of oxygen, a bit like a LANTR?
The person who came up with the Liberty Ship seems to think that nuclear lightbulbs can have greater than 1 t/w. He might be wrong.
Just a thought: What if the fuel was solid, like frozen methane, that was heated and melted into the reactor? This is probably more for interplanetary travel, but it means very light tanks, or none at all. The "push up popsicle rocket".
Zubrin has an idea for a nuclear, lox-afterburning aerospiked SSTO.
Is there + any electric propulsion capable of earth liftoff? Or any other near term tech besides NTRs? (I'm counting strictly rockets, scramjets, etc. Not space elevators and the like)
Do you think that the autonomous sealed reactor could be applied to NTR cores?
