THE VIDEO SHELF · nuclear thermal propulsion
Nuclear Propulsion in Space
A 1968 NASA film from the US National Archives explaining why the US needed a nuclear rocket and how the engine works. It also shows combined nuclear and chemical stages for a manned Mars mission.
Why HN readers recommended it
HN people link it as an old-timey explainer for nuclear thermal propulsion, and as evidence these engines were already built and tested.
This is a summary from the source dataset, not an endorsement by Hacker News or the video creator.
Video & recommendation details
- Creator / channel
- US National Archives
- Topic
- nuclear thermal propulsion
- Format
- documentary
- Level
- general
- HN recommenders in dataset
- 2
- HN mentions in dataset
- 4
- Recommendation years in dataset
- 2018–2020
These counts and years describe the included Hacker News records; they are not YouTube views or the video’s publication date.
From the original HN conversations
Excerpts from the recorded comments. Follow each source for the full comment and surrounding discussion.
aerospikes There’s a lot of reason why they haven’t been used yet, but I think most the compelling argument against them is that they won’t be used until fuel costs become the competitive factor in launch prices. [LINK] [LINK] Nuclear rockets are quite the concept …
wizardforhire on Hacker News · 2018-06
In The Tyranny of the Rocket Equation (2012)This article didn't explain it at all, so you're right to ask. tl;dr: Gaseous propellant (I'm guessing hydrogen) is heated with fission then pointed in the opposite direction of intended travel. The uranium in this design is not a propellant, but a heat source. Aside: …
cwojno on Hacker News · 2020-10
In New nuclear engine concept could help realize 3-month trips to Mars
Summaries, classifications and recommendation records are from the HackerTube source dataset. Read about this library and its limitations.