The Hindu : National : Feasibility of nuclear propulsion for spacecraft under study

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Friday, Sep 01, 2006

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Feasibility of nuclear propulsion for spacecraft under study

Special Correspondent

"Could be used for long duration inter-planetary missions"

MUMBAI: Scientists are deliberating on the feasibility of nuclear propulsion for spacecraft.

The scientists and engineers of the Department of Space and Department of Atomic Energy are working on the concept, according to the Chairman of Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO), G. Madhavan Nair.

He indicated this in his address as the chief guest of the graduation function of the Bhabha Atomic Research Centre (BARC) Training School here on Thursday.

Later talking to media persons, Dr. Nair said that the conventional fuels used for launching spacecraft were safe and provided the required thrust level, but nuclear fuels could be used in lower orbit thrust for providing the force and drive required for long distance and long duration inter-planetary missions.

"This is a cheap and quick way of doing it," he said. Scientists of both the establishments have started exchanging ideas. Another advantage seen is that the spacecraft would not be required to carry large amounts of conventional fuels if a nuclear reactor onboard provides the energy thrusts.

Atomic Energy Commission Chairman Anil Kakodkar said, "what starts as a concept could be a reality."

Moon mission

But this is not the only meeting point between the space and nuclear sciences. The ISRO wants to open another vista of nuclear fuel supply for future power plants. Dr. Nair told the passing out trainee scientific officers of BARC after felicitating the toppers that its moon mission, Chandrayaan-1 scheduled to take off in 2008 for remote sensing of the earth's satellite while orbiting it, would look for helium-3 on the moon. That could be the fuel for futuristic nuclear power plants.

He told reporters that cosmic activities did shower helium-3 on the moon and some of this could have been absorbed and got deposited on it. The Chandrayaan-1 will probe the matter and collect data on the helium-3 deposits.

Dr. Kakodkar said that humans had been dependent on terrestrial resources for meeting their energy needs but time would come to look beyond the earth for getting extras-terrestrial supplies. "These efforts will be in the larger interests of the human civilisation," he said.

Tracking lunar orbital

The BARC and Electronics Corporation of India have fabricated an antenna for tracking the lunar orbital. Dr. Nair said that preparations for the lunar mission were on schedule and right now ISRO and its associate organisations were busy building instruments needed for it.

He said that launching of a polar satellite launch vehicle (PSLV) — carrying an advanced mapping satellite, Cartosat-2 and an Indonesian satellite — was scheduled to be launched in the second fortnight of October from Sriharikota. The ISRO is expected to try some of the technologies that go in reusable launch vehicles.

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