Science & Futurism with Isaac Arthur cover image

Advanced Spaceship Drive Compendium (Narration Only)

Science & Futurism with Isaac Arthur

00:00

Nuclear Thermal Propulsion

In a nuclear thermal propulsion system, we have a reactor which is being cooled much like a normal fission reactor. That heat is used to superheat a propellant. While it is possible to run an open-cycle reactor that would blow radioactive propellant out the back, this is not considered a viable method of spaceship propulsion on or near Earth. Either closed or open-cycle NTPs make interplanetary missions much easier.

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