Nuclear propulsion : an introduction / Claudio Bruno -- Nuclear-thermal-rocket propulsion systems / Timothy J. Lawrence -- Application of ion thrusters to high-thrust, high-specific-impulse nuclear electric missions / D.G. Fearn -- High-power and high-thrust-density electric propulsion for in-space transportation / Monika Auweter-Kurtz and Helmut Kurtz -- Review of reactor configurations for space nuclear electric propulsion and surface power considerations / Roger X. Lenard -- Nuclear safety : legal aspects and policy recommendations / Roger X. Lenard -- Radioactivity, doses, and risks in nuclear propulsion / Alessio Del Rossi and Claudio Bruno -- The Chernobyl accident : a detailed account / Alessio del Rossi and Claudio Bruno.

Spacecraft require electrical energy. This energy must be available in the outer reaches of the solar system where sunlight is very faint. It must be available through lunar nights that last for 14 days, through long periods of dark and cold at the higher latitudes on Mars, and in high-radiation fields such as those around Jupiter. Radioisotope power systems (RPSs) are the only available power source that can operate unconstrained in these environments for the long periods of time needed to accomplish many missions, and plutonium-238 (238Pu) is the only practical isotope for fueling them. Plutonium-238 does not occur in nature. The committee does not believe that there is any additional 238Pu (or any operational 238Pu production facilities) available anywhere in the world.The total amount of 238Pu available for NASA is fixed, and essentially all of it is already dedicated to support several pending missions-the Mars Science Laboratory, Discovery 12, the Outer Planets Flagship 1 (OPF 1), and (perhaps) a small number of additional missions with a very small demand for 238Pu. If the status quo persists, the United States will not be able to provide RPSs for any subsequent missions.

Space Nuclear Propulsion for Human Mars Exploration identifies primary technical and programmatic challenges, merits, and risks for developing and demonstrating space nuclear propulsion technologies of interest to future exploration missions. This report presents key milestones and a top-level development and demonstration roadmap for performance nuclear thermal propulsion and nuclear electric propulsion systems and identifies missions that could be enabled by successful development of each technology.

Considers Space Nuclear Auxiliary Power program and plans for utilization of isotopic, reactor, or solar powered space electric power systems. Includes "Preliminary SNAPSHOT-1 Performance Summary," AEC report, p. 135-230.

Steam Generators for Nuclear Power Plants examines all phases of the lifecycle of nuclear steam generators (NSGs), components which are essential for the efficient and safe operation of light water reactors (LWRs). Coverage spans the design, manufacturing, operation and maintenance, fitness-for-service, and long-term operation of these key reactor parts. Part One opens with a chapter that provides fundamental background on NSG engineering and operational experiences. Following chapters review the different NSG concepts, describe NSG design and manufacturing, and consider the particularities of SGs for VVER reactors. Part Two focuses on NSG operation and maintenance, starting with an overview of the activities required to support reliable and safe operation. The discussion then moves on to tubing vibration, followed by the water and steam cycle chemistry issues relevant to the NSG lifecycle. Finally, a number of chapters focus on the key issue of corrosion in NSGs from different angles. This book serves as a timely resource for professionals involved in all phases of the NSG lifecycle, from design, manufacturing, operation and maintenance, to fitness-for-service and long-term operation. It is also intended as a valuable resource for students and researchers interested in a range of topics relating to NSG lifecycle management. - Fulfills the need for a detailed reference on steam generators for nuclear power plants - Contains comprehensive coverage of all phases of the nuclear steam generator lifecycle, from design, manufacturing, operation and maintenance, to fitness-for-service and long-term operation in one convenient volume - Presents contributions from key manufacturers and research institutes and universities

In 2003, NASA began an R&D effort to develop nuclear power and propulsion systems for solar system exploration. This activity, renamed Project Prometheus in 2004, was initiated because of the inherent limitations in photovoltaic and chemical propulsion systems in reaching many solar system objectives. To help determine appropriate missions for a nuclear power and propulsion capability, NASA asked the NRC for an independent assessment of potentially highly meritorious missions that may be enabled if space nuclear systems became operational. This report provides a series of space science objectives and missions that could be so enabled in the period beyond 2015 in the areas of astronomy and astrophysics, solar system exploration, and solar and space physics. It is based on but does not reprioritize the findings of previous NRC decadal surveys in those three areas.

This book covers the fundamentals of thermodynamics required to understand electrical power generation systems, honing in on the application of these principles to nuclear reactor power systems. It includes all the necessary information regarding the fundamental laws to gain a complete understanding and apply them specifically to the challenges of operating nuclear plants. Beginning with definitions of thermodynamic variables such as temperature, pressure and specific volume, the book then explains the laws in detail, focusing on pivotal concepts such as enthalpy and entropy, irreversibility, availability, and Maxwell relations. Specific applications of the fundamentals to Brayton and Rankine cycles for power generation are considered in-depth, in support of the book’s core goal- providing an examination of how the thermodynamic principles are applied to the design, operation and safety analysis of current and projected reactor systems. Detailed appendices cover metric and English system units and conversions, detailed steam and gas tables, heat transfer properties, and nuclear reactor system descriptions.

An informed look at the myths and fears surrounding nuclear energy, and a practical, politically realistic solution to global warming and our energy needs. Faced by the world's oil shortages and curious about alternative energy sources, Gwyneth Cravens skeptically sets out to find the truth about nuclear energy. Her conclusion: it is a totally viable and practical solution to global warming. In the end, we see that if we are to care for subsequent generations, embracing nuclear energy is an ethical imperative.

Reviews the political and social context for nuclear power generation, the nuclear fuel cycles and their implications for the environment.

Nuclear power is not clean, cheap, or safe. With Three Mile Island, Chernobyl, and Fukushima, the nuclear industry's record of catastrophic failures now averages one major disaster every decade. After three US-designed plants exploded in Japan, many countries moved to abandon reactors for renewables. In the United States, however, powerful corporations and a compliant government still defend nuclear power-while promising billion-dollar bailouts to operators. Each new disaster demonstrates that the nuclear industry and governments lie to "avoid panic," to preserve the myth of "safe, clean" nuclear power, and to sustain government subsidies. Tokyo and Washington both covered up Fukushima's radiation risks and-when confronted with damning evidence-simply raised the levels of "acceptable" risk to match the greater levels of exposure. Nuclear Roulette dismantles the core arguments behind the nuclear-industrial complex's "Nuclear Renaissance." While some critiques are familiar-nuclear power is too costly, too dangerous, and too unstable-others are surprising: Nuclear Roulette exposes historic links to nuclear weapons, impacts on Indigenous lands and lives, and the ways in which the Nuclear Regulatory Commission too often takes its lead from industry, rewriting rules to keep failing plants in compliance. Nuclear Roulette cites NRC records showing how corporations routinely defer maintenance and lists resulting "near-misses" in the US, which average more than one per month. Nuclear Roulette chronicles the problems of aging reactors, uncovers the costly challenge of decommissioning, explores the industry's greatest seismic risks-not on California's quake-prone coast but in the Midwest and Southeast-and explains how solar flares could black out power grids, causing the world's 400-plus reactors to self-destruct. This powerful exposé concludes with a roundup of proven and potential energy solutions that can replace nuclear technology with a "Renewable Renaissance," combined with conservation programs that can cleanse the air, and cool the planet.