RE: References to an Earlier "Cruise" Missile and Other loosely relate d stuff.

["Franta, Jaroslav" <frantaj@AECL.CA>]

Try the PLUTO nuclear ramjet project :



http://www.merkle.com/pluto/

http://www.parmly.luc.edu/%7Enavejic/photos/pluto1.jpg

http://www.fas.org/nuke/space/c05other.htm



....more recently (reference not handy at the moment), a similar type of

nuclear jet aircraft was studied as one option for a science platform for

exploring the giant gas planets - Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, Neptune - and

Mars and Titan.



I believe that the original Pluto research & testing project (with its

"Tory" BeO-moderated reactor) went quite a long way towards achieving its

goal of very minimal FP discharge - in spite of the very severe operating

conditions, with plain air working fluid.



Actual test flights would not have been as risky as suggested in the article

above either, since FP build-up even at full power (some 500MWth) would not

be enormous after only a minute or two of operation....  yes, the main

(only) hazard would be from direct gamma ray exposure from the unshielded

reactor when running at full power -- which is a function of altitude. (the

Kiwi/Rover/Nerva nuclear rocket engines also ran essentially unshielded, in

the desert at Jackass Flats....).



Jaro





-----Original Message-----

From: Peter.Vernig@MED.VA.GOV [mailto:Peter.Vernig@MED.VA.GOV]

Sent: Tuesday July 24, 2001 11:59 AM

To: radsafe@list.vanderbilt.edu; andrew_karam@URMC.ROCHESTER.EDU

Subject: References to an Earlier "Cruse" Missile and Other loosely relate d

stuff.



<SNIP>

Dr. Craven makes reference to a Low

Altitude Nuclear Cruise Missile, which is, of course, not the current cruise

missile we are familiar with but an earlier incarnation which was to fly

with an unshielded reactor.  According to Dr. Craven, spewing out

radioactive fission products as it went.  

<SNIP>

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