Societal imperatives and the need for space nuclear power and propulsion systems

摘要

The development and exploitation of nuclear power and propulsion represent certain didactic imperatives for human civilization. Among these are economic, epistemological, moral and commercial propositions. Developing space nuclear power and propulsion represents one future: the choice of not to pursue the course barring some breakthrough in physics represents a dramatically different future. The author argues that the time is now fortuitous for deployment and operation of nuclear propulsion and power, primarily nuclear electric propulsion, at significant levels, employing figures of merit that transcend simple cost models used to justify nuclear power sources in the past.