Dale Thomas is a NASA veteran of several decades, a professor at the University of Alabama in Huntsville, and one of the leading researchers on nuclear thermal propulsion. A method using uranium fission of propelling rockets with far high impulse than most chemical rockets. He walks us through the history of nuclear propulsion from the solid fuel-based rockets being designed by NASA now, to the liquid fuel rockets his research team is exploring the viability of now. We work through what has inspired Dale in his life, the safety and operation of these rockets, and how liquifying uranium might let us travel through space much more efficiently.

Check out the student lead effort of building a scientific mission-oriented CubeSat here.

https://www.uah.edu/ASGC

https://www.uah.edu/csil/research/research-projects/abex-alabama-burse-energetics-explorer

Despite what we say in the intro and episode, they are not currently looking for funding. Although the work they are doing is fantastic.

If you are interested in some books that Dale has recommended you can check out some of them here.

These are affiliate links so if you want to help out the podcast, this is a good way to do it :)

Seven Eves -  https://amzn.to/3ATwBNv

Saturn Run -  https://amzn.to/3jfaWJr

The Martian - https://amzn.to/3BXxSnX

0:00 Intro

1:51 An introduction to rocketry, nuclear reactions and how they both work in nuclear thermal rocketry

Specific Impulse: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Specific_impulse

Nuclear Thermal Rocketry https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nuclear_thermal_rocket

7:51 - Dale Thomas’s personal journey to working on nuclear thermal propulsion

Likely a good clip would be here

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kuiper_belt

14:56 - Liquid core nuclear propulsion or liquid fuel and some of the details about it

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/NERVA

19:51 - Bubbly thermodynamics for bubbling hydrogen into liquid uranium

22:13 - How nuclear reactions are safely cooled

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nuclear_reactor#Reactivity_control

24:00 - What the current state of nuclear thermal propulsion

Solid fuel is being built by NASA

Liquid fuel is what Dale specializes in researching

26:50 - What the components in current nuclear thermal propulsion designs will need the most design validation

Windows ping 3 (sorry sorry sorry)

29:40 - How big of a concern is radiation in nuclear thermal rockets?

33:15 - NTP rockets currently will likely have radiated exhausted, what does that mean for ground launches?

Currently being developed as a space only engine.

Impulse vs thrust

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Specific_impulse

36:00 - Expansions on gas fuel uranium and pulsed staged nuclear propulsion

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nuclear_thermal_rocket#Nuclea