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Aerospace Nuclear Science & Technology
Organized to promote the advancement of knowledge in the use of nuclear science and technologies in the aerospace application. Specialized nuclear-based technologies and applications are needed to advance the state-of-the-art in aerospace design, engineering and operations to explore planetary bodies in our solar system and beyond, plus enhance the safety of air travel, especially high speed air travel. Areas of interest will include but are not limited to the creation of nuclear-based power and propulsion systems, multifunctional materials to protect humans and electronic components from atmospheric, space, and nuclear power system radiation, human factor strategies for the safety and reliable operation of nuclear power and propulsion plants by non-specialized personnel and more.
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International Conference on Mathematics and Computational Methods Applied to Nuclear Science and Engineering (M&C 2025)
April 27–30, 2025
Denver, CO|The Westin Denver Downtown
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The Standards Committee is responsible for the development and maintenance of voluntary consensus standards that address the design, analysis, and operation of components, systems, and facilities related to the application of nuclear science and technology. Find out What’s New, check out the Standards Store, or Get Involved today!
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Dragonfly, a Pu-fueled drone heading to Titan, gets key NASA approval
Curiosity landed on Mars sporting a radioisotope thermoelectric generator (RTG) in 2012, and a second NASA rover, Perseverance, landed in 2021. Both are still rolling across the red planet in the name of science. Another exploratory craft with a similar plutonium-238–fueled RTG but a very different mission—to fly between multiple test sites on Titan, Saturn’s largest moon—recently got one step closer to deployment.
On April 25, NASA and the Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory (APL) announced that the Dragonfly mission to Saturn’s icy moon passed its critical design review. “Passing this mission milestone means that Dragonfly’s mission design, fabrication, integration, and test plans are all approved, and the mission can now turn its attention to the construction of the spacecraft itself,” according to NASA.
E. Willin, M. Sirch, R.-D. Penzhorn, M. Devillers
Fusion Science and Technology | Volume 14 | Number 2 | September 1988 | Pages 756-763
Tritium Properties and Interactions with Material | Proceedings of the Third Topical Meeting on Tritium Technology in Fission, Fusion and Isotopic Applications (Toronto, Ontario, Canada, May 1-6, 1988) | doi.org/10.13182/FST88-A25226
Articles are hosted by Taylor and Francis Online.
Whereas titanium is a getter material mainly suitable for the long-term storage of tritium, zirconium cobalt alloy can also be employed for the interim storage and transport of this gas. Activated zirconium cobalt alloy reacts within minutes with hydrogen at room temperature. At the composition of ZrCoH0.8 the dissociation pressure at room temperature is estimated to be 10−3 Pa. The zirconium cobalt / H2 system is not pyrophoric at room temperature. Methane is partially cracked on Ti and on ZrCo at temperatures above 600 and 300°C respectively. With titanium the corresponding carbide is formed without affecting the storage properties of the getter. After reaction of ZrCo with CH4 or N2 the hydrogen absorption capacity is reduced. Titanium powder, sponge or sheet react with nitrogen at temperatures above 750°C with a parabolic rate law. In the overlayer of the metal substrate the phases N dissolved in α-Ti, Ti2N and TiN were identified. The same phases were observed when NH3 reacts with this metal.
