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Willbilly1221 t1_j22r851 wrote

For a power supply for the ship is one thing, and somewhat a bit sketchy at that (a hypothetical of the challenger event spreading radiation across the upper atmosphere of our globe, and what those ramifications would be comes to mind). But atomic propulsion is an entire can of worms unto itself. In space i can propel my body in a space suit with a can of compressed air like computer duster. Granted not very far or for very long. The size of the reactor, combined with the size of the thruster, combined with the size of the fuel load, and ignoring the safety ramifications, makes it all one giant, overcomplicated machine long before we have considered payload, plus passengers. Not to say some smart cookie hasn’t or couldn’t come up with such a system, but if i was the pilot of an imaginary spaceship such as this, id rather prefer you send me up there with a mega sized can of computer duster.

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dittybopper_05H t1_j23z2ww wrote

>a bit sketchy at that (a hypothetical of the challenger event spreading radiation across the upper atmosphere of our globe, and what those ramifications would be comes to mind).

Except that things like RTG's for space use are designed to be strong enough that a Challenger-type event wouldn't result in the release of any radioactive materials. The RTG's themselves and the General Purpose Heat Sources (GPHS) inside them are designed to withstand re-entry from low Earth orbit without any release of radioactive material.

There is no reason why a spacecraft propelled by a nuclear thermal rocket in space couldn't be designed in a similar fashion, such that the heating elements are protected until they are deployed in the engine, which wouldn't happen until the spacecraft is actually in orbit.

Or maybe just send the engine up by itself, fully assembled but inactive and in a protective case designed to permit a safe reentry, and mate it with the rest of the spacecraft once in orbit.

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Takseen t1_j2437tb wrote

Makes sense. Most of our bigger spaceships will be built or at least assembled in orbit anyway.

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dittybopper_05H t1_j243mri wrote

We've already been doing it for decades. Mir, the ISS, and Tiangong weren't sent up in one piece, but were assembled in orbit from component pieces.

We know how to do this already.

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