ANS Nuclear Cafe Matinee: DUFF Space Nuclear Reactor Prototype
A joint Department of Energy and NASA team has demonstrated a simple, robust fission reactor prototype [note: see Comments for more accurate and complete description] intended for development for future space exploration missions. The DUFF (Demonstration Using Flattop Fissions) experiment represents the first demonstration in the United State-since 1965-of a space nuclear reactor system to produce electricity.
The uranium-powered reactor is the first use of a "heat pipe" to cool a small nuclear reactor (measuring one foot!) and power a Stirling engine. The following short video from Los Alamos National Laboratory explains the hows and whys:
See this article from Los Alamos on the details of the DUFF experiment recently successfully conducted. Also, see this CNN article for an excellent description.
Many future space missions will only be feasible with the use of reliable and safe nuclear energy, and this proof-of-concept is a steppingstone toward that future.
