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Nuclear rocket breakthrough: US scientists build molten uranium engine for faster missions


New research on the CNTR shows it could drastically improve spacecraft efficiency with liquid uranium fuel.

Nuclear thermal propulsion (NTP) has long been considered a potential successor to chemical rockets, which are now primarily seeing efforts to reduce cost rather than improve efficiency. The researchers also highlighted that fission byproducts like xenon and samarium could negatively affect the reaction if not properly removed, an area requiring further simulation. The BLENDER II system uses X-rays to study bubble behavior in uranium-surrogate materials, though mathematically modeling these dynamics remains difficult.

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