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RE: Nuclear powered rocket
Radsafers:
I've received some excellent information, constructive criticism, and confirmation of my knowledge of Pu. However it is evident that I did not pose the right question(s) to you nor did I present my goal. My goal is to explain to the public in simple terms, the risk from an explosion of a rocket carrying a non-weapon U or Pu device. I am assuming two things: 1) Not many oxides (or other soluble forms) would be created in the explosion; and 2)the dispersal factor for the soluble forms is so large, that there would be little or no risk to an individual on the ground. Also, as I have handled both U and Pu in insoluble forms, I know they pose very little risk. I am seeking comments/criticism of these assumptions.
We all know that the anti-nukes like to say that a uGm of Pu would destroy a city (or the world!), yet such outlandish statements are belied by (as pointed out by a Radsafer) the tons of the material put in the air during the A-bomb atmospheric testing days. It is ludicrous to say a rocket explosion involving a Pu or U device would be extremely dangerous from a radiological aspect. The public needs to be told in simple terms that this is ludicrous and why it is ludicrous. I believe my assumptions and conclusions (there is little or no risk to someone on the ground)are valid, but I want to be sure, and I am seeking your comments.
Larry Grimm, Senior HP
UCLA EH&S/ Radiation Safety Division
* lgrimm@admin.ucla.edu Phone:310/206-0712 Fax: 310/206-9051
Cell: 310/863-5556 Pager:1-800-233-7231ext93569
* On Campus: 501 Westwood Plaza, 4th Floor, MS 951605
* Off Campus: UCLA Radiation Safety Div, 501 Westwood Plaza 4th
Fl, Box 951605, Los Angeles, CA 90095-1605
* If this email is not RSD business, the opinions are mine, not
UCLA's.
-----Original Message-----
From: David Whitfill [mailto:djwhitfill@MSN.COM]
Sent: Wednesday, February 05, 2003 1:14 PM
To: radsafe@list.vanderbilt.edu
Subject: RE: Nuclear powered rocket
Good information...thanks! If we are serious about a Mars mission, a new
NERVA prototype will have to be built. Being a proponent of research
reactors I view a revival of the NERVA program as a good thing, but we need
public support and the public needs to be educated in the risks along with
past triumphs and failures. Here are some interesting links:
http://www.ans.neep.wisc.edu/~ans/point_source/AEI/sep95/rocket_programs.html
http://www.islandone.org/APC/Nuclear/02.html
http://www.lascruces.com/~mrpbar/rocket.html
=======================================
Dave and everybody,
I've been spending a lot of time lately looking at the nuclear rocket
program at NTS (for another reason, granted), but allow me to set this
record straight.
There was at least one failure, as noted, but this was actually a failure of
instrumentation and not the rocket itself. It seems that the instruments
monitoring the level of hydrogen in the storage tanks failed, and the tanks
ran dry unexpectedly. (The hydrogen was both coolant and propellant.) As a
result, the rocket ran out of coolant and overheated. However, the NERVA
program was actually quite successful in their efforts to build a nuclear
rocket engine, and there were several designs and many tests that
demonstrated that success. They even had one test go for 28 starts and
shutdowns, and operated for over 4 hours.
It was really a matter of politics that doomed the program - this work was
going on during the Apollo days, and at the end of Apollo NASA did not have
firm political support to continue with manned planetary missions.
Therefore, chemical rockets were adequate and there was no need to continue
developments on the NERVA systems.
For a good recent review, check out the December, 2002, Nuclear News
interview with Harold Finger, the first joint AEC-NASA Space Nuclear
Propulsion Office Director. There are also other articles in that edition
that discuss new space reactor concepts. There has been renewed interest in
the program, so perhaps we may see another one built.
Doug Minnema, PhD, CHP
National Nuclear Security Administration, US DOE
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