ANS is committed to advancing, fostering, and promoting the development and application of nuclear sciences and technologies to benefit society.
Explore the many uses for nuclear science and its impact on energy, the environment, healthcare, food, and more.
Division Spotlight
Education, Training & Workforce Development
The Education, Training & Workforce Development Division provides communication among the academic, industrial, and governmental communities through the exchange of views and information on matters related to education, training and workforce development in nuclear and radiological science, engineering, and technology. Industry leaders, education and training professionals, and interested students work together through Society-sponsored meetings and publications, to enrich their professional development, to educate the general public, and to advance nuclear and radiological science and engineering.
Meeting Spotlight
2025 ANS Annual Conference
June 15–18, 2025
Chicago, IL|Chicago Marriott Downtown
Standards Program
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!
Latest Magazine Issues
May 2025
Jan 2025
Latest Journal Issues
Nuclear Science and Engineering
July 2025
Nuclear Technology
June 2025
Fusion Science and Technology
Latest News
High-temperature plumbing and advanced reactors
The use of nuclear fission power and its role in impacting climate change is hotly debated. Fission advocates argue that short-term solutions would involve the rapid deployment of Gen III+ nuclear reactors, like Vogtle-3 and -4, while long-term climate change impact would rely on the creation and implementation of Gen IV reactors, “inherently safe” reactors that use passive laws of physics and chemistry rather than active controls such as valves and pumps to operate safely. While Gen IV reactors vary in many ways, one thing unites nearly all of them: the use of exotic, high-temperature coolants. These fluids, like molten salts and liquid metals, can enable reactor engineers to design much safer nuclear reactors—ultimately because the boiling point of each fluid is extremely high. Fluids that remain liquid over large temperature ranges can provide good heat transfer through many demanding conditions, all with minimal pressurization. Although the most apparent use for these fluids is advanced fission power, they have the potential to be applied to other power generation sources such as fusion, thermal storage, solar, or high-temperature process heat.1–3
Jericho W. Locke, Bhavya Lal
Nuclear Technology | Volume 206 | Number 8 | August 2020 | Pages 1109-1119
Technical Paper | doi.org/10.1080/00295450.2019.1680080
Articles are hosted by Taylor and Francis Online.
Since the 1950s, the U.S. government has developed and launched a number of space-based nuclear systems based on both decay of radioisotopes and fission. While private entities have supported the development and launch of nuclear payloads as contractors, the federal government funded and drove the development and operation of such systems. In recent years, the private sector has developed interest in leading the development, launch, and use of nuclear technologies for space applications. This growth mirrors similar trends toward commercialization in the space sector as a whole. This paper investigates that private sector interest in space nuclear systems based on interviews with over a dozen companies in the space and nuclear industries. It presents a definition of commercial space activities, develops a model for the commercial use of space nuclear systems, and explores the status of commercial space nuclear activities in the United States. Our research finds that private sector capabilities in developing, testing, and operating space nuclear systems are growing but require the development of advanced nuclear technology, growth and diversification of the space economy, and government regulatory action.