3 ms·
It looks like they are aiming for core temperature of "close to 3000K" [1]. Nerva reached only about 2300K. [1] https://inl.gov/article/space-the-next-frontier
by credit_guy 4y ago
It looks like they are aiming for core temperature of "close to 3000K" [1]. Nerva reached only about 2300K.
[1] https://inl.gov/article/space-the-next-frontier-requires-innovation-in-nuclear-fuel-design-and-testing/ https://inl.gov/article/space-the-next-frontier-requires-inn...
- deleted 4y ago[deleted]
- perihelions 4y agoI think the differences are less dramatic than that. You're conflating the nuclear fuel internal temperature (inl.gov link) with hydrogen exhaust temperature (NERVA / 2,300 K). There should be a sizable temperature gradient between those two.
- idlewords 4y agoExactly. The temperature limit for the exhaust (and therefore the specific impulse) is set by the materials used to make the engine. You can run a reactor as hot as you want, but it will want to vaporize itself and the spacecraft around it.