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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.
H. Kumawat
Nuclear Science and Engineering | Volume 199 | Number 4 | April 2025 | Pages 550-556
Review Article | doi.org/10.1080/00295639.2024.2380636
Articles are hosted by Taylor and Francis Online.
The Monte Carlo Nucleon Transport (MONC) code for nucleon transport is extended for below 20-MeV proton transport using the ENDF and EXFOR databases. It is used to simulate the p + 7Li reaction up to 20-MeV proton energies, with the produced neutron spectra reported here. The simulated results are compared with the calculated values from other available codes like PINO, EPEN, and SimLiT, as well as experimental data. The spectra reported here can be used to get the neutron cross section for the quasi-monoenergetic neutron reaction and will help to subtract the low-energy contribution. The primary neutron spectra and its transport are useful, as this reaction has the potential for accelerator-based boron neutron capture therapy. The backing materials are used to fully stop the proton beam, hence the contributions of the neutrons from backing materials are estimated. It is found that tantalum is a good backing material below ~8 MeV and that carbon is better at higher energies.