/sci/ - Science & Math

when the FUCK are we gonna start launching reactors into space again
lets drop another one on canada too

>>7433567
Space nukes, yes we did! Space nukes could be even better with our current technology

Safety is nice to think about and all, but is a reactor the best thing to use in the first place?

A serious design consideration with nuclear reactor powered spacecraft is the dissipation of heat. The only way to dissipate is radiation, which is very slow compared to the ways we're used to on Earth.

I have no doubt a submarine-sized reactor would be totally unsuitable without a bunch of downsizing. Subs have whole oceans to cool them, so dissipating heat isn't much of a concern.

There are better ways to power a spacecraft. If you're inside the astroid belt, solar panels work pretty well. RTGs are also an option. Also, a reactor and associated components is _heavy_as_fuck_, and the more weight, the less dV.

>>7269585
As far as I know they used Pu-239 for the RTGs, no? Cold War era RTGs used Pu, not sure if they've switched yet.

pic related, a tiny SNAP-10A reactor used for powering satellites in Earth orbit. Check the wiki out OP.