nuclear-news

Russia pouring money into plan for nuclear powered space travel

Russia to Build Nuclear Space Engine by 2017, Space Travel, Moscow (RIA Novosti) Apr 02, 2012 A Russian Megawatt-class nuclear propulsion system for long-range manned spacecraft must be ready by 2017, Skolkovo Foundation’s Nuclear Cluster head Denis Kovalevich said on Wednesday.

“At present we are testing several types of fuel and later we will
start drafting the design,” Kovalevich said. “The first parts [of the
nuclear engine] should be built in 2013, and the engine is expected to
be ready by 2017.”

The engine is being developed for interplanetary manned spacecraft to
ensure that Russia maintains a competitive edge in the space race,
including the exploration of the Moon and Mars. The Russian government
allocated 500 million rubles ($16.7 million) in 2010 to start a
project to build a spacecraft with a nuclear engine. The overall
investment in the project is estimated at 17 billion rubles (over $580
million) until 2019.

According to Russia’s nuclear power agency Rosatom, the development
and construction of a nuclear propulsion system for spacecraft will
cost over 7.2 billion rubles ($247 mln).

NASA started a program to develop a nuclear propulsion system in 2003,
and spent several hundred million dollars on the project before
cutting funding…..
http://www.space-travel.com/reports/Russia_to_Build_Nuclear_Space_Engine_by_2017_999.html

April 4, 2012 - Posted by Christina Macpherson | Russia, technology