Russia tests key element of nuclear space engine to revolutionize long-term missions – RT World News

Since at least 2009, Russian space and atomic engineers have been developing a special space propulsion system that uses a 1 megawatt nuclear fusion reactor as a source of energy. According to a work competition report, published on a website retracing public spending in Russia and reviewed by the news agency, one of the crucial elements of the system, responsible for cooling the reactor, was tested with success.

The nuclear engine, known by the abbreviation YaEDU (Nuclear Propulsion and Propulsion System), consists of a small fast neutron nuclear reactor, an electric generator powered by reactor thermal reactors and space reactors.

Unlike chemical rocket engines, which burn their propellant in just a few minutes, the YaEDU will be able to run for tens of thousands of hours before the reactor core expires. This would accelerate the acceleration of a spaceship over time. This system is also an additional advantage for on-board electrical systems. This type of propulsion is therefore much better than traditional rockets for long-range space missions, such as Mars exploration and beyond.

One of the technical challenges to solve to create such a system is to handle a lot of waste heat. Since the spacecraft operates under vacuum, the heat must be radiated into space rather than being carried away by large amounts of water, as is the case in conventional nuclear power plants.

Ordinary space-ship radiators are essentially long, externally mounted tubes, through which the coolant flows until its temperature drops sufficiently. But this approach proved too voluminous for the YaEDU and also vulnerable to micrometeorites – a serious threat in the missions for which the system is designed.

Russian engineers have therefore created a liquid droplet radiator. This device generates a stream of droplets that collectively have a very large area and can emit a lot of heat in space. The droplets are then collected and pumped into the system.

The report, quoted by RIA Novosti, indicates that the Keldych research center, a leading Russian space laboratory, has "Created and tested prototypes of droplet generator and collector elements … have completed testing of a prototype droplet radiator."

Successful tests of other components of the YaEDU have already been reported, including the special assembly of fuel rods and ion engines. Russia plans to use the system as part of a spacecraft called TEM, or transport unit and energy.

You think your friends would be interested? Share this story!