3 ms·
Is a nuclear thermal engine expected to have a higher specific impulse than current-day ion thrusters, or is the benefit a higher absolute thrust?
by dtgriscom 4y ago
Is a nuclear thermal engine expected to have a higher specific impulse than current-day ion thrusters, or is the benefit a higher absolute thrust?
- idlewords 4y agoIon thrusters have a much higher specific impulse, but nuclear thermal engines are high thrust and have about twice the specific impulse of chemical rockets. There's a concept called 'Bimodal Nuclear Thermal Propulsion' where you use the reactor for nuclear thermal propulsion when you need high thrust, and as a low-thrust, high specific impulse nuclear electric rocket the rest of the time.