The Role of Nuclear Power and Nuclear Propulsion in the Peaceful Exploration of Space
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Author(s): IAEA
Publisher: IAEA
ISBN: 9201074042
Format: softback
133pp
Price: €35
Review Date: 12 April 2006
Review: Artificial satellites require power. For those near the Earth, solar power can be used, but as sunlight depends inversely on the distance from the Sun, a probe in the neighbourhood of Jupiter would receive very little sunlight. An alternative source of energy is nuclear power systems (NPSs), which rely on radioisotopes. This publication reviews the development of NPSs and nuclear propulsion systems that are used in several national space programmes and details the units’ salient characteristics and other data. It provides a history of the missions on which they were deployed and summarizes their advantages over other systems.