New NASA test shows promise of nuclear fuel for Space Missions

Aerospace and defense company General Atomics has concluded a test of nuclear fuel for spacecraft deep space missions in collaboration with NASA.

According to a report on 22 January, the carried out several high-impact tests of the nuclear fuel that spacecrafts could use, at NASA’s Marshall Space Flight Center.

The test proved that the nuclear fuel has capacity to withstand the extreme conditions that spacecraft bear and can be used for deep missions, including missions to Mars.

Breakthrough in spacecraft fuel technology

The nuclear fuel went through several tests conducted by NASA’s General Atomics Electromagnetic Systems (GA-EMS) in Huntsville, AL.

Hot Hydrogen flow test was applied, and the fuel was subjected to six thermal cycles with temperatures rapidly increasing to a peak of 2,600K or (4,220°F/2,326°C). 

For each cycle, there was a 20-minute hold at peak performance to demonstrate the effectiveness of shielding the fuel material from erosion and degradation by the hot hydrogen.

Other tests were further conducted with different features to see how different material enhancements improve performance under reactor-like conditions, with impressive outcomes. 

Commenting on the results, Dr Christina Back, vice president of GA-EMS Nuclear Technologies and Materials said: 

“To the best of our knowledge, we are the first company to use the compact fuel element environmental test facility at MSFC to successfully test and demonstrate the survivability of fuel after thermal cycling in hydrogen representative temperatures and ramp rates.”

Back said the fuel was further tested in a non-hydrogen environment and found to do exceptionally well at temperatures up to 3000K.

This shows that the fuel makes the NTP system to be far more efficient than conventional chemical rocket engines.

Going forward, General Atomics intends to continue testing in collaboration with NASA to see that the fuel meets performance requirements for future cislunar and Mars mission architectures.