SOLOPOS.COM – NASA sent the DART spacecraft using the Falcon 9 rocket. (Liputan6.com/NASA).
Solopos.com, JAKARTA-The National Aeronautics and Space Administration or the American Aeronautics and Space Agency (NASA) will launch a nuclear-powered rocket.
The first launch of this nuclear-powered rocket will be carried out in 2025 with a value of USD 499 million or around IDR 7.5 trillion.
PromotionHow to get scholarships so that you study for free, not to be a burden on your family
The rocket, called the Demonstration Rocket for Agile Cislunar Operations (DRACO), is expected to reach Mars in just 45 days or 1.5 months and will last up to 300 years in orbit. The speed and resistance of this rocket cannot be separated from the nuclear energy used.
As is known, nuclear work techniques are utilizing a chain reaction of atoms to generate a strong explosive power.
Therefore, the reactor from DRACO will work by separating uranium atoms, which are activated by hot hydrogen at a temperature of 2,427 degrees Celsius.
This can also generate a force that allows the rocket to go at a much higher speed. “Once the rocket is assembled, DRACO will be sent into high orbit which is about 2,000 kilometers from Earth, so that the dangerous radioactive fuel will be safe,” said DRACO Program Manager at DARPA, Tabitha Dodson quoted from Live Scienceon Tuesday (1/8/2023).
In the process of working on DRACO, NASA is also working with US defense contractor Lockheed Martin. Vice President of Lockheed Martin Lunar Exploration Campaigns, Kirk Shireman stated this will be the beginning of a new era of space exploration.
“We’re going to put this together, we’re going to fly this demonstration, collect a lot of great data and really, we believe, usher in a new era for the United States and for humanity, in support of space exploration missions,” Shireman said.
In fact, NASA has started its research on nuclear thermal engines since 1959. This has also led to the design and construction of nuclear engines for Rocket Vehicle Applications (NERVA). Unfortunately, this plan had to be abandoned after the Apollo missions ended in 1973 and there was a reduction in funding.
This article has been published on Bisnis.com with the title “NASA Will Launch a Nuclear Power Rocket, Only 45 Days To Arrive Mars”
2023-08-02 16:38:00
#NASA #Launch #NuclearPowered #Rocket #Mars #Months
