In my previous article on the history of nuclear pulse propulsion, I outlined three research programs in nuclear propulsion systems for space travel.  The first of these, Project Orion, was investigated in the 1950s and 1960s as a very serious and practical option for space travel.  Its only limiting factor was the signing of the International Test Ban Treaty in 1963 that barred the detonation of nuclear weapons in space.

Groups such as the ANS Young Members Group and the North American Young Generation in Nuclear, which empower a new generation of nuclear students and professionals, were recently joined by a small new sister organization, the WMS Next Generation Leadership Committee. The new organization was born during an informal meeting in February between organization leaders and young participants at the Waste Management Conference (presented by Waste Management Symposia [WMS] in Phoenix, Arizona).

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency just released a draft Protective Action Guideline (PAG) that sets standards and makes recommendations for the response to a large release of radioactive material into the environment (e.g., from a nuclear plant accident or a dirty bomb attack, etc.). The draft report is now out for public comments (which are due by July 15).

The ANS Nuclear Cafe is proud to host the 153rd edition of the Carnival of Nuclear Energy Bloggers today, April 22, as another Earth Day is celebrated focusing on our stewardship of the environment.

This week's announcement by Babcock & Wilcox that it had signed the long-awaited funding agreement with the Department of Energy has been taken by advocates of small modular reactors (SMRs) as just the latest good news on the inevitable path to construction of at least one prototype nuclear plant using SMR reactor technology in the United States. It is widely hoped that this is the harbinger of the rapid spread of the market for SMR plants.

What marriage can teach us about the nuclear waste problem

The 152nd Carnival of Nuclear Bloggers is available now at "The Hiroshima Syndrome."  You can click here to see this latest edition, which contains a varied array of topics and authors sure to provide something of interest for everyone.

NASA scientist Dr. Pushker Kharecha and Dr. James Hansen (the leading climate scientist in the US) recently authored a study which conservatively estimates nuclear power has saved 1.8 million lives, which otherwise would have been lost due to fossil fuel pollution and associated causes, since 1971.

The April issue of Nuclear News magazine is available in hard copy and electronically (click 'ANS Members' or 'Subscribers' in left column for full issue). This issue features a special section "Outage Management" with these feature articles:

A first-time event at this year's American Nuclear Society Student Conference was the Nuclear Energy Innovation Summit, held at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. The premiere event for the summit was a Pitch Contest that challenged students to effectively communicate their ideas in 90 seconds by using only a single slide per team, followed by 90 seconds of questions from a diverse panel of judges.

"Curses, like chickens, come home to roost." - Chaucer, 1343-1400

The 151st Carnival of Nuclear Energy is at Next Big Future. Click here to access the latest edition of the Carnival.

Charles Chase and his team at Lockheed Martin's "Skunk Works" made quite a splash recently by announcing that they are attempting to develop a truck-trailer-sized 100-MW fusion reactor-to be ready for operation in just a few years!

It's high time to make plans to attend the American Nuclear Society's 2013 Annual Meeting, held this year in Atlanta, Georgia, on June 16-20 at the Hyatt Regency Atlanta.

The March/April 2013 edition of the technical journal Fusion Science and Technology (FST) is available electronically and in hard copy for American Nuclear Society member subscribers and others.

On Sunday, March 31, 2013, just a few months before his 91st birthday, Ted Rockwell passed away quietly in his sleep. His passing has stimulated a profound sense of loss among nuclear energy professionals.

The 150th Carnival of Nuclear Energy appeared over the weekend at Atomic Power Review. Click here to access the latest edition of the Carnival.

While Shippingport Atomic Power Station in Pennsylvania was the first full-scale nuclear plant to be designed and built to provide commercial electric power, the Vallecitos Atomic Electric Power Plant in California was actually the first privately-financed nuclear power plant to provide meaningful amounts of electricity for public use.

Following the Three Mile Island (TMI) accident on March 28, 1979, it seemed to many as if a slowing nuclear energy industry in the United States had been dealt a death blow. It had not, but the public's confidence was shaken, and this blow to public opinion built upon a decade's worth of intensive, focused anti-nuclear effort on the part of a number of large well-funded special interest groups.

In this first of a series of articles on nuclear propulsion for space travel, allow me to enlighten each of you about the fascinating history of this technology. This post will cover three early projects, with posts to follow that will explore other technologies along with an assessment of future prospects.