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2026 Nuclear Energy Conference & Expo (NECX)
August 24–27, 2026
Dallas, TX|Hilton Anatole
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Breaking ground on a new approach to construction
The drive to Kairos Power’s reactor demonstration site in Oak Ridge, Tenn., is not only scenic—it’s historic. Nearly 85 years ago, roughly 30,000 construction workers transformed orchards and farmland into a key Manhattan Project site. Depending on your route, you may pass by one of the three gatehouses that were once military checkpoints controlling access to Atomic Energy Commission production facilities.
John J. Newgard, Myron M. Levoy
Nuclear Science and Engineering | Volume 7 | Number 4 | April 1960 | Pages 377-386
Technical Paper | doi.org/10.13182/NSE60-A25732
Articles are hosted by Taylor and Francis Online.
The over-all design of a prototype nuclear rocket is described. For practical systems using uranium-loaded graphite for fuel elements within a graphitic core structure, and hydrogen as core coolant and propellant, it is possible to achieve specific impulses of at least 800 sec. The design of the reactor core, reflector, and nuclear controls are presented for a prototype design. The nuclear, heat transfer, and fluid flow considerations for a typical design are discussed. Reactor perturbations caused by fuel element ejection, corrosion-erosion, and hydrogen density changes are discussed. Some radiation hazards are considered. Nonreactor aspects of the rocket such as hydrogen handling and the coupling of the reactor to the rocket system are indicated.