NASA will have to pay for the entire cost of plutonium-238 production, which was resumed a few months ago by the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) after almost 25 years. “Since the [Obama] Administration has a ‘user pays’ philosophy, we are now in a position to pay for basically the entire enterprise, including the base infrastructure at the DOE,” NASA [...]
Post Tagged with: “Nuclear”
Iran Claims Monkey Launched to Space
On January 28, Iranian state television reported launching a monkey to 120 km and recovering it alive. No independent observer has been able to confirm this report. The launch , which may have taken place sometime within the few days preceding January 28, was timed to celebrate the birthday of the prophet Mohammad. Iran has previously tried and failed to [...]
South Korea Analyzes Unha-3 Debris, Declares US in Range
On December 12, North Korea surprised the world by launching a rocket and hoisting a satellite into space. The satellite was quickly determined to be non-functional and to have no attitude control, but that did not reassure the country’s many foes, including South Korea and the United States, who fear that development of launch capabilities masks the intention to create nuclear [...]
Nuclear Engine Prototype Test Successful
Scientists at NASA and Los Alamos National Laboratory have tested a prototype of a nuclear reactor engine that may be used for future deep space missions. “A small, simple, lightweight fission power system could lead to a new and enhanced capability for space science and exploration,” said Los Alamos project lead Patrick McClure. “We hope that this proof of concept [...]
Celebrating Commercial Space 50 Years After Telstar-1
July 10, 2012 marks the 50th anniversary of the launch of Telestar-1 from Cape Canaveral, Florida. The launch of Telestar-1 allowed the first live television transmissions two weeks later on July 23, 1962, which were live television pictures of the Eiffel Tower and the Statue of Liberty. The National Air and Space Museum’s Space History and Education divisions, in association [...]
North Korea’s Launch Preparations Well Advanced
North Korea is planning a rocket launch on 14-16 April, to commemorate the birthday of the nation’s founder. This is North Korea’s third attempt to launch a rocket since 1998. Satellite images of Tongchang-dong Space Launch Center show that North Korea is making all the preparations consistent with a mid April launch. The images show that North Korea “has undertaken [...]
Russia is Developing a Nuclear Space Engine by 2017
According to press agency RIA Novosti, Russia is developing a Megawatt-class nuclear propulsion system for long-range manned spacecraft. “At present we are testing several types of fuel,” said Denis Kovalevich, Skolkovo Foundation’s Nuclear Cluster head, “the engine is expected to be ready by 2017.” The source reports a government allocation of 500 million rubles ($16.7 million) in 2010 to start a project of a [...]
US Pu-238 Production Remains Unfunded
A NASA plan to reinitiate production of plutonium-238 (Pu-238) has been delayed once again due to lack of funding in the US Congress year-end funding bill for the Department of Energy (DoE) fiscal year 2012. This latest bill follows 3 months after a similar appropriation request for the DoE was denied. Domestic US Pu-238 supplies will not be available for at least five years after production is [...]
Space Safety Magazine, Issue 2, Winter 2012
Inside the Winter 2012 Issue of the Space Safety Magazine Cooperating with China: Space Safety is the Key! Psychology of Space Exploration Five Hundred Days in Isolation China’s Foundations in Space 5th IAASS Conference: USAF General G. A. Feest Opening Speech Astrophotography and Space Debris Will Anyone Recover Apollo 13’s Plutonium? Revisiting the Liablity Convention Water and Bombs Suborbital Safety: A New [...]
Will NASA Ever Recover Apollo 13′s Plutonium From the Sea?
Source: Matthew Van Dusen for Txchnologist. The Query: Will NASA ever recover the 3.9 kg of plutonium from Apollo 13’s SNAP-27 nuclear RTG from the depths of the South Pacific Ocean. The Response: “Houston, we’ve had a problem,” said astronaut Jack Swigert on April13, 1970. But the problem wasn’t as simple as three astronauts potentially trapped in the void of space, [...]
