Rolls-Royce expresses their commitment to reintroducing nuclear power into the space industry. Why do I say reintroduce? The utilization of nuclear power for space travel was a major project during the cold war era of the space race. The development of the Nerva Program in 1961 by the US Atomic Energy Commission and NASA worked to determine a method for nuclear rocket propulsion. This idea may seem futuristic but is not a new concept and it is certainly within the realm of possibility in the near future.

Rolls-Royce, a British Aerospace and defense contractor states that they aim to bring nuclear power into the aerospace industry once again. The implementation of nuclear would make space travel to mars and beyond a possibility. The longevity of a fission reaction can sustain propulsion of a space vessel far beyond the capabilities of carbon fuel used today.

How Does Nuclear Thermal Propulsion Work?

Let us Take a Look at Rocket Propulsion First

Rocket propulsion is a relatively simple concept to understand – burn fuel to eject exhaust gases at high velocities to create thrust. An imbalance of forces between the ejected exhaust gases and gravity allows the vessel to accelerate upwards.

Time to Substitute in Nuclear

Now, substitute the exhaust gases with hydrogen and the carbon fuel with uranium in a fission reactor and you have nuclear rocket propulsion. Hydrogen may have a very low mass, but when shot out at extremely high speeds behind the spacecraft, then the force (mass x acceleration) can be quite prominent over time. In the absence of air resistance, the transfer of force from hydrogen is to the spaceship imparts a velocity onto the ship.

There are many challenges to consider with nuclear thermal propulsion (NTP). Things to be addressed in research are reactor designs under strict size regulations, material strength in stress-inducing environments, weight concerns of radiation shielding, and reactor propulsion controls.

Rolls Royce and Their Roll in the Nuclear Space Future

Rolls Royce has secured funding from the UK Space Agency to continue researching their new reactor for space travel. They intend on using this to partner with Universities to work on implementing their micro-reactor design with space propulsions.

Jake Thompson, the director of Novel Nuclear & Special Projects at Rolls-Royce says “We are delighted to win this award from the National Space Innovation Program and to be continuing our collaboration with the UK Space Agency. This funding is a pivotal point in our microreactor program and will accelerate our technology progression, bringing us a step closer to powering inspiring human endeavors in space.”

If space exploration is to be a strong consideration in the future, nuclear microreactors must prove to be a safe, reliable, and effective choice for this application. Rolls-Royce’s motion in this industry is a step for many other research facilities to take a step in this direction of space travel. Although Elon Musk has stated that his rocket propulsion system could achieve space travel to Mars, NASA believes NTP is the option to reach those distances given more research.

Last year, NASA and the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) announced that they were launching a program to develop a nuclear thermal propulsion system. The rocket ship will be named the Demonstration Rocket for Agile Cislunar Operations (DRACO). DARPA announced that it will partner with Lockheed Martin to design and build the prototype NTR system. This plans to be sent to space for testing by 2027.