Why a Nuclear Powered Rocket is a Bad Idea

Taking a critical look at the enthusiasm for nuclear rocket engines in the media. Looking at the pros and cons of nuclear rocket engines.

There is newfound enthusiasm for nuclear powered space rockets. Wired magazine is reporting on BWX Technologies and NASA working together to develop a nuclear rocket engine.

“You can do chemical propulsion to Mars, but it’s really hard,” says Emrich. “Going further than the moon is much better with nuclear propulsion.”

Further the article says:

“Many space exploration problems require that high-density power be available at all times, and there is a class of such problems for which nuclear power is the preferred — if not the only — option,” Rex Geveden, a former NASA associate administrator and CEO of the power generation company BWX Technologies, told the National Space Council in August.

I see several problems with these claims. There are no mentions of either Blue Origin or SpaceX which specifically has plans to go to Mars using chemical propulsion, something the interviewed people in this article go rather far in dismissing as a viable option. Somebody better head over to Elon Musk and tell him, he is wasting billions on something that will…