2023-09-07 22:04:53
In “Objectif Lune” and “We walked on the Moon”, Hergé imagines a nuclear-powered rocket. A visionary idea that might well materialize as early as 2027.
The DRACO (Demonstration Rocket for Agile Cislunar Operations) program, created by a collaboration between NASA and Darpa, a department of the American army, may well be on the verge of realizing a technological dream that dates back more than sixty years. .
Nuclear and aerial propulsion is indeed a project that was very popular in the 1940s to 1970s. Proof of this is the mode of propulsion imagined by Hergé in his comic strip, and which, although visionary, in reality reflected above all the spirit of the times. It must be said that, nuclear-powered submarines being already in the game, and able to evolve underwater for months, the idea of an airplane or a rocket that would never (or almost) need to be supplied with fuel, was something to dream regarding.
Recently, the idea has come back to the fore a bit. Both for aviation, with for example the crazy Sky Cruise project (a nuclear-powered passenger plane that would never land), and for the space industry with this DRACO project which is, it must be said, a lot more realistic.
So realistic that it might well see the light of day for 2027. It must be said that the stakes are high. For now, getting to Mars should take more than six months at a minimum. With this new technology, it would only take forty days.
When we think regarding the fact that the astronauts who would make such a trip would have to endure levels of exposure to critical radiation, and endure loneliness and confinement for several months, we can see the whole point of this new method of propulsion. to drastically shorten the trip.
The principle is quite simple: rockets carry tiny nuclear reactors that generate absolutely terrifying heat. This is used to heat a propellant gas. By using the expansion of this gas, the rocket can therefore propel itself into space without too many risks, as explained by Space.com website.
A project which would therefore, on paper, be relatively safe, because if the nuclear energy will be reused, the rocket should, in theory, not reject nuclear waste in order to propel itself.
This does not mean, however, that it is necessary to play sorcerer’s apprentice in view of the non-negligible risk of accidents. For this reason, the nuclear reactor in question should, at least for its first launch, only be started up once the rocket is in orbit, in order to minimize any risk of seeing radioactivity contaminate the earth’s atmosphere.
All for a rather high cost of 499 million dollars. But we are still talking regarding being able to connect the Earth to Mars in a little over a month…
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