Guests: Dr. Christopher Morrison; Topics: News and updates for both space nuclear propulsion and space applicable surface power.
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We welcomed Dr. Chris Morrison back to the program to update us on space nuclear power propulsion and possible surface power uses for in-space applications. The key words and tags from above provide a good summary of our major discussion topics in the order discussed. I’ve repeated the key words and tags below for your convenience.
Dr. Christopher Morrison, space nuclear power, nuclear propulsion, surface nuclear power for space applications, current political climate for space nuclear power, nuclear thermal rocket propulsion, nuclear electric rocket propulsion, Marshall Space Flight Center RFP, nuclear propulsion challenges, timelines, lunar surface nuclear power, spacenukes.com, Killopower, low enriched uranium, highly enriched uranium, current window of opportunity, France, Russia, China, SpaceX, Elon Musk, NASA nuclear power timeline, Musk and solar power, SPD#6, President Trump and nuclear propulsion, commercial space nuclear access, technology demo missions, Dr. Morrison NIAC Phase One Award, radio isotopes, 2019 President Trump memo, VASIMIR, optimism level, commercial nuclear power market demand, Blue Origin, green energy, U238, plutonium, fusion, thrust discussion, Commonwealth Fusion Systems.
Some of the standout topics from my perspective included the progress made toward space nuclear power and propulsion during the Trump administration. This included the presidential policy change allowing commercial companies to pursue nuclear technologies. Keep in mind that in previous years, nuclear was only for the government, DOD and select users. Chris spent substantial time explaining the benefit of the presidential policy order so don’t miss this most important discussion.
Another topic I found to be most interesting was the change toward low enriched nuclear fuel rather than the traditional approach of using only highly enriched fuel which meant weapons grade fuel. Make sure you hear what our guest said about this and how the use of low enriched fuel makes commercial nuclear space power in multiple forms doable. Still another interesting discussion theme that caught my attention dealt with the optimism of the guest and as Chris said, “the golden window of opportunity” to move forward with advances for both nuclear propulsion and the development of surface nuclear power for the Moon and space usage. The optimism subject came up a few times during the program so listen for it. What do you think? Are you optimistic that we will finally see space nuclear propulsion and power in a few years or maybe on the outside ten years? Let us know by posting on our blog. Near the end of the discussion, with Tim’s call from Huntsville, Killopower came up followed by fusion. Don’t miss these comments.
Chris had many callers on a variety of topics. Also, Chris posted several emails on our blog with important supplemental information. Note that Chris provided his contact information through LinkedIn on the blog. He made an appeal for commercial ideas and product suggestions. Don’t be shy about submitting them to him.
Please post your comments/questions for Dr. Morrison on our blog. You can reach him through me or his blog post with his LinkedIn contact information.
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