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Conference Spotlight
2026 ANS Annual Conference
May 31–June 3, 2026
Denver, CO|Sheraton Denver
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Getting back to yes: A local perspective on decommissioning, restart, and responsibility
For 45 years, Duane Arnold Energy Center operated in Linn County, Ia., near the town of Palo and just northwest of Cedar Rapids. The facility, owned by NextEra Energy, was the only nuclear power plant in the state.
In August 2020, a historic derecho swept across eastern Iowa with winds approaching 140 miles per hour. Damage to the plant’s cooling towers accelerated a shutdown that had already been planned, and the facility entered decommissioning soon after, with its fuel removed in October of that year. Iowa’s only nuclear plant had gone off line.
Today the national energy landscape looks very different than it did just six short years ago. Electricity demand is rising rapidly as data centers, artificial intelligence infrastructure, advanced manufacturing, and electrification expand across the country. Reliable, carbon-free baseload power has become increasingly valuable. In that context, Linn County has approved the rezoning necessary to support the recommissioning and restart of Duane Arnold and is actively supporting NextEra’s efforts to secure the remaining state and federal approvals.
Technical Session|Fission Surface Power/Nuclear Electric Propulsion
Thursday, May 9, 2024|3:15–4:55PM MDT|Sweeney B
Session Chair:
Georgette Alexander-Morrison (X Energy)
Session Organizer:
Alternate Chair:
Aditya Shivprasad
We have a full line up of fast paced talks for this session - I know it is late in the day - but come join us for a great variety of papers. NOTICE: This session will include discussions on NUCLEAR Launch Safety (which extends beyond FSP and NEP payloads).
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Multiphysics Analysis of Compact Failsafe Nuclear Fission Power System for Space and Extraterrestrial Surface Application
3:15–3:21PM MDT
Aanchal Gupta (Univ. Illinois, Urbana-Champaign), Rizwan-uddin (Univ. Illinois, Urbana-Champaign), Magdi Ragheb (Univ. Illinois, Urbana-Champaign)
Paper
Radiological Contingency Planning Under the NSPM-20 Framework
3:21–3:27PM MDT
Alexander Q. Gilbert (Zeno Power Systems)
Assessment of Canadian Fission Surface Power Options
3:27–3:33PM MDT
Justin Spencer (Canadian Nuclear Laboratories)
MOOSE: Canada's Space Nuclear Power Concept
3:33–3:39PM MDT
Devan Wagner (MDA)
Aluminum Cemented Tungsten Tetraboride Bearings for Dusty Space Environments
3:39–3:45PM MDT
Andrew Makepeace (Millennitek), Candice Kinsler-Fedon (Howmet Aerospace), Drew Spradling (Millennitek)
Overview of Experimental Design and Testing at the MIT Research Reactor in Support of Space Nuclear Technology Development
3:45–3:51PM MDT
Nesrin Cetiner (MIT), Arunkumar Seshadri (MIT), Jiankai Yu (MIT), David Sprouster (MIT), Yina Huang (MIT), Jason Schulthess (INL), Sacit Cetiner (MIT), Steven Hoak (MIT), David Carpenter (MIT), Lance Snead (MIT), Koroush Shirvan (MIT)
Demonstration of the In-Pile Steady State Extreme Temperature Testbed at the Ohio State University Research Reactor
3:51–3:57PM MDT
Emily Hutchins (Univ. Tennessee, Knoxville), Lawrence Heilbronn (Univ. Tennessee, Knoxville), Brandon Wilson (ORNL), N. Dianne Bull Ezell (ORNL)
On the Qualification Process of a New Radiography System for the Inspection of Carbon Bonded Carbon Fiber Sleeves and Discs
3:57–4:03PM MDT
Nidia C. Gallego (ORNL), Rex Veach (ORNL), Roger Miller (ORNL)
NRC Literature Review Report on the Safety Review Process for Space Nuclear System Launches
4:03–4:09PM MDT
S. Tina Ghosh (U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission), Steven Shockley (U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission), Trey Hathaway (U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission)
NASA's Inaugural Nuclear Flight Safety Handbook, NASA-HDBK-8715.26
4:09–4:15PM MDT
Donald Helton (NASA Headquarters)
Presentation Slides (Visible to Attendees)
The Nuclear Launch Safety Analysis Toolchain: Status Report
4:15–4:21PM MDT
Mario Mendoza (Ultra Safe Nuclear), Kevin A. Makinson (Ultra Safe Nuclear)
ASTM Standard Development for Safe Operating Practices In-Space for Space Fission Reactors used for Nuclear Power and Propulsion
4:21–4:27PM MDT
Randy Bell (Aerospace Corp), Don Helton (NASA)
Recent High-Temperature Heat Pipe Work at Advanced Cooling Technologies
4:27–4:33PM MDT
Calin Tarau (Advanced Cooling Technologies), Jeff Diebold (Advanced Cooling Technologies), Sandeep Hatte (Advanced Cooling Technologies), Brett Leitherer (Advanced Cooling Technologies), Kuan-Lin Lee (Advanced Cooling Technologies)
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