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Nighthawk117 on 25 November 2020
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SvennoJ said:
Nighthawk117 said:

Yes, you are right that SpaceX does use fossil fuel to power its Falcon 9 rocket - it's called RP-1, and it's a highly refined form of kerosene.

A nuclear fission rocket engine will be available sooner than a nuclear fusion engine.  Nuclear fission has been around since the 40s, nuclear fusion, on the other hand, still does not exist.  The ITER reactor being built in Cadarache, France won't achieve first plasma until Dec. 2025. But, that thing is awesome!

True, submarines have been nuclear powered since 1955. There must be a reason NASA hasn't jumped on that ship yet. Maybe it's all a PR problem or all the shaking during launch isn't very good for nuclear engines.

Ah I see they just got back on track. Scrapped in 1970, $125 million granted in 2019 to continue with the nuclear rocket program. Nice.

Yes, the NERVA program ended around 1970.  They had the Prometheus program in the 80s or 90s.  Not sure what the new name is now.

You don't want a nuclear powered rocket to get you off the Earth - hell people are scared enough of RTGs.  You want chemical rocket engines to get you off the Earth, but to go from Earth orbit to deep space, a nuclear powered engine is far away, the most efficient way to travel.