In its remarkable journey on deep space research, NASA has achieved a milestone where it has just completed testing of “KILOPOWER” its $20 million pet project which is a nuclear fission system that will be used on deep space missions.
The testing was completed at its Nevada National Security Site in late March where a successful prototype called KRUSTY (Kilopower Reactor Using Stirling Technology) proved to work beyond expectations.
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The entire system named Kilopower involves Uranium generated heat to produce power that will propel a craft through deep space. The phenomenal system will now improve missions to Mars, the Moon, and other planets as well.
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Engineers revealed the success of KRUSTY and Kilopower at a news conference at NASA Glen Research center Ohio. Lead Engineer Marc Gibson said “I’m really glad to be able to report back to you that the test went great,” Nasa also revealed how Kilopower could be used as a major energy source for robotic and human space exploration missions in the future.
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The technology behind Kilopower is based on Uranium generated energy as its main power source derived by the nuclear fission of Uranium. In theory, the power could be almost infinite where it could supply power to a mission lasting hundreds of years without depending on a consumable or the Sun's solar energy.
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Kilopower works with a reactor containing a core enriched with uranium. This is secured in a casing made from beryllium oxide. The fission process is triggered by a rod of boron carbide that produces heat which is then transported by pipes to the Stirling converters which act as the power generators of the machine.
There's a large circular radiator on top of the reactor that eliminates excess heat from the reactor. The machine or reactor is just 6.5 feet tall which goes to show how much power can be contained in a small device through nuclear fission.
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Engineers also built a smaller prototype and made it work according to the process required during an actual mission. The procedure was run at high temperatures and proved to be more than successful as it worked beyond their expectations. The final phase of testing was over on 21st March that ended in a demo which took 28 hours. It also worked perfectly during that period of time.
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During the test, the reactor was run at 800 degrees C and engineers were more than happy to find it worked perfectly producing 1 KW of power which according to them can be scaled up to 10KW. For missions to the Moon and Mars, designs could be made to reach 40 KW.
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Associate Administrator of NASA James Reuter said that “Kilopower is ingenious in its design,” James Reuter, acting associate administrator of NASA’s Space Technology Mission Directorate, said at the conference. “The aim is to solve key technological challenges that will enable more ambitious human science missions in the future.”
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The biggest unique factor about NASA’s project is that this is the first time that a new nuclear reactor has been built and tested successfully for deep space exploration. It will come as great news for space agencies planning deep space missions.
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Kilopower paves the way for a new method of power generation in contrast to the old method of using RTG or radioisotope thermonuclear generators that require the decaying of plutonium -238. This provides only a limited supply of power of 1kilowatt. Gibson said that 1 KW is the lowest level where RTG stops bit with Kilopower you can even go up to megawatts of power, it is that powerful.
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The biggest benefit of Kilopower is that the power output is scalable unlike RTGs which cannot be turned off once started. It also has the biggest safety measure where nuclear issues are concerned. It does not to be started during or prior to launches and can be enabled once it reaches space. Said Gibson “If there was a 15-year mission to the Kuiper Belt, we don’t have to start the reactor up until we get there.
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The successful completion of the testing phase means that no further demonstrations of the machine will be required. What’s left is approval to test Kilopower in space which will then be another milestone for NASA. This could happen anytime in the next 18 months.
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The news is a huge boost for deep space exploration and a mammoth step for space technology. Not only is it efficient, it is also cheaper and provides much more power than solar power or older methods of power. Kilopower could also sustain life and longer stays on other planets in the future. That’s how important it is.
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