Propulsion using nuclear fission as a power source |
Image from Copyright Lilly Harper |
Fission Drives -Data Panel | |
Summary: | A simple design that must be used with caution because of hazardous exhaust. |
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Basic Propulsion: | Reaction |
Specific Impulse: | solid core: 500 - 1100 liquid core: 1300 - 1600 gas core: 3000 - 7000 plasma core: 5000-8000 Nuclear-salt-water rocket 67300-482140 |
Fuel: | Radioactive elements such as Uranium, plutonium and transplutonic elements |
Reaction Mass: | Usually hydrogen; sometimes water or ammonium |
Minimum Technology Required: | Middle Tech (Atomic Age Equivalent) |
Matter Manipulation: | Macroscale |
Controller required: | Manual / non-sentient computer |
First Introduced: | Late Information Age. Were used reasonably widely during the early to middle Interplanetary Age |
Used by: | Vec polities, some Middle Tech systems. |
Used in: | Low speed interplanetary haulers |
Construction Costs: | Autofac: high (bulky, requires radioactive elements); Hylonano: cheap assuming presence of component materials |
Running cost: | Cheap |
Advantages: | Simple design |
Disadvantages: | Low isp. Interplanetary only. Exhaust radiation deadly to bionts |
Normal Acceleration: | 0.1 to 0.2 g or less |
Drive Details | Fission rockets are thermal rockets that function by heating a working fluid with the thermal output of a nuclear fission reactor. Typically the reaction mass flows directly through solid-core reactors and some liquid-core designs. In the case of gaseous-core fission drives, the heat transfer is by radiation across a transparent, heat resistant ceramic containment vessel. |
Image from Loopquanta | |
Star Nine, a fission gas core interplanetary exploration ship from the First Federation era |