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OSTP memo guides space nuclear plan
A White House Office of Science and Technology Policy (OSTP) memorandum released on Tuesday guides NASA, the Department of Energy, and the Department of Defense on their roles in deploying near-term space nuclear power.
This follows a series of NASA announcements last month—driven by the executive order “Ensuring American Space Superiority,” issued by Trump in December—including an ambitious timeline for establishing a moon base, which would rely on fission surface power (FSP) to survive the long lunar night at the moon’s south pole, and plans for a nuclear electric propulsion (NEP) rocket to be launched in 2028.
Duong Thanh Tai, Hoang Duc Tuan, Nguyen Xuan Hai, Nguyen Ngoc Anh, David Bradley, Peter Sandwall, James C. L. Chow
Nuclear Science and Engineering | Volume 199 | Number 2 | February 2025 | Pages 314-324
Research Article | doi.org/10.1080/00295639.2024.2366733
Articles are hosted by Taylor and Francis Online.
This study aims to describe the steps needed to be made in developing a commissioning report of a Halcyon linear accelerator utilizing the manufacturer’s golden beam data (GBD) as a reference in making the evaluation. The platform herein has determined the performance alignment of our local machine with the GBD obtained through comprehensive analyses. This made use of the gamma index and relative dose difference. This paper details the methodologies and outcomes of comparing local measurements against GBD during commissioning.
For the Halcyon linear accelerator, dosimetric data, including percentage depth doses, dose profiles, and output factors, were acquired using a three-dimensional scanning water tank and various ionization chambers. The GBD were exported from the treatment planning system and compared to the measurements. To evaluate the agreement between the GBD and measurements, gamma index and relative dose difference analyses were conducted.
For field sizes greater than 4 × 4 cm2, percentage depth doses and beam profiles, the gamma indices between GBD and measurements were less than 1%/1 mm. The gamma indices were found to be slightly greater for field sizes 2 × 2 cm2 and 4 × 4 cm2, remaining within 2%/2 mm, satisfying the American Association of Physicists in Medicine Medical Physics Practice Guideline 5 for commissioning and quality assurance of mega-volt photon beams. Deviations in the output factor between the GBD and measurements were not significant, remaining within 1%.
The GBD data were evaluated in the commissioning of a Halcyon linear accelerator, with analyses being made of the gamma index and relative dose difference. The gamma index analysis is shown to be an effective method for comprehensively evaluating deviations between the GBD and measurements in the beam matching process.