Space Nuclear Propulsion Technologies

Webcast

Space Nuclear Propulsion for Human Mars Exploration Report Briefing

February 22, 2021

4:30 PM - 6:00 PM (ET)

Past

About

Space Nuclear Propulsion for Human Mars Exploration Report Briefing

View the briefing on Vimeo.

Additional Information

Is it a Closed Session event?

Not Closed

Contact

Alan Angleman

(757) 636-4625
aangleman@nas.edu

Disclaimer

It is essential to the National Academies mission of providing evidence-based advice that participants in any of our meetings or events avoid political or partisan statements or commentary and maintain a culture of mutual respect. The statements and presentations during our meetings or events are solely those of the individual participants and do not necessarily represent the views of other participants or the National Academy of Sciences, which is a non-partisan, tax exempt organization that includes under its Charter the National Academy of Engineering and National Academy of Medicine, and that operates the National Research Council.

Space Nuclear Propulsion Technologies Committee Meeting 3 - NASA Perspectives on NEP/NTP

June 8, 2020

1:00 PM - 4:00 PM (ET)

Past

Agenda

Download the Agenda

About

This is a meeting of the Space Nuclear Propulsion Committee that will focus on discussions with NASA's Space Technology Mission Directorate (STMD). The open session of the meeting will run from 2pm to 4:30pm EDT. This will be followed by a closed session for committee members only. The agenda for the open session is as follows:

2pm EDT Welcome by the Committee Co-chairs

2:05 EDT Presentations by NASA
Jim Reuter, STMD
Ave Kludze, NASA HQ, Office of the Administator
Len Dudzinski, STMD
Michael Houts, MSFC
Lee Mason, GRC

4:30pm EDT Open session adjourns.

RECORDING OF THE MEETING
This meeting will be recorded on Zoom by the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine (“The Academies”). Please be aware that by attending the meeting, you consent to your voice being recorded for use by The Academies for the purpose of note-taking. This recording will not be publicly released, shared outside of The Academies, or used for other public purposes.

ZOOM INFO
URL: https://nasem.zoom.us/j/92158450615
Meeting ID: 921 5845 0615
Password: See below.

If you would like to participate, please provide Gaybrielle Holbert (gholbert@nas.edu), with your name, organization, and phone number, and she will send you the password. Individuals will only be allowed into the meeting if they have registered and their zoom ID includes their lastname, even if they have the password.

Zoom Etiquette: Everyone other than committee members, speakers, ASEB staff, and key NASA staff are requested to remain muted with your webcam off during the meeting. Should you have a question, please submit it to the staff in the chat box and if time allows, the question will be raised.

Study Statement of Work
The National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine will convene an ad hoc committee to identify primary technical and programmatic challenges, merits, and risks for developing and demonstrating space nuclear propulsion technologies of interest to future exploration missions. Nuclear propulsion has been shown to offer the potential for rapid human transit to Mars with one-way transit times less than 9 months and total roundtrip times including Mars surface stays less than 3 years. The committee will also determine the key milestones and a top-level development and demonstration roadmap for each technology. Additionally, the committee will identify missions that could be enabled by successful development of each technology.

The space nuclear propulsion technologies of specific interest are:

1. High-performance nuclear thermal propulsion (NTP) that heats hydrogen propellant to 2500K or more and produces specific thrust of at least 900 seconds.

2. Nuclear electric propulsion (NEP) that converts thermal energy to electricity to power plasma thrusters for highly efficient and rapid transport of large payloads ( e.g., a propulsion system with a power level of at least 1 MWe and a mass-to-power ratio (kg/kWe) that is substantially lower than the current state of the art of NEP systems).

Additional Information

Is it a Closed Session event?

Partially Closed

The following committee members were present at the closed sessions of the event

Robert D. Braun
Roger M. Myers
Shannon Bragg-Sitton
Jonathan W. Cirtain
Tabitha R. Dodson
Alec D. Gallimore
James H. Gilland
Bhavya Lal
Parviz Moin
Joseph A. Sholtis, Jr.
Steven J. Zinkle

The following topics were discussed in the closed sessions:

Discussion with NASA during the meeting
Future meetings: Organizations, speakers, and questions for speakers

The following materials (written documents) were made available to the committee in the closed sessions:

None

Date of posting of Closed Session Summary:

October 29, 2021

Contact

Gaybrielle Holbert

(202) 334-2558
gholbert@nas.edu

Disclaimer

It is essential to the National Academies mission of providing evidence-based advice that participants in any of our meetings or events avoid political or partisan statements or commentary and maintain a culture of mutual respect. The statements and presentations during our meetings or events are solely those of the individual participants and do not necessarily represent the views of other participants or the National Academy of Sciences, which is a non-partisan, tax exempt organization that includes under its Charter the National Academy of Engineering and National Academy of Medicine, and that operates the National Research Council.

Meeting Closed

Space Nuclear Propulsion Technologies Committee Meeting 14 - Committee Deliberations (Closed Session)

September 28, 2020

1:00 PM - 4:00 PM (ET)

Past

About

This is a closed meeting for the Space Nuclear Propulsion Committee members only. That consist of dicussion and planning for future meetings.

Study Statement of Work
The National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine will convene an ad hoc committee to identify primary technical and programmatic challenges, merits, and risks for developing and demonstrating space nuclear propulsion technologies of interest to future exploration missions. Nuclear propulsion has been shown to offer the potential for rapid human transit to Mars with one-way transit times less than 9 months and total roundtrip times including Mars surface stays less than 3 years. The committee will also determine the key milestones and a top-level development and demonstration roadmap for each technology. Additionally, the committee will identify missions that could be enabled by successful development of each technology.

The space nuclear propulsion technologies of specific interest are:

1. High-performance nuclear thermal propulsion (NTP) that heats hydrogen propellant to 2500K or more and produces specific thrust of at least 900 seconds.

2. Nuclear electric propulsion (NEP) that converts thermal energy to electricity to power plasma thrusters for highly efficient and rapid transport of large payloads ( e.g., a propulsion system with a power level of at least 1 MWe and a mass-to-power ratio (kg/kWe) that is substantially lower than the current state of the art of NEP systems).

Additional Information

Is it a Closed Session event?

Institution Closed

The following committee members were present at the closed sessions of the event

Robert D. Braun
Roger M. Myers
Shannon Bragg-Sitton
Jonathan W. Cirtain
Tabitha R. Dodson
Alec D. Gallimore
James H. Gilland
Bhavya Lal
Parviz Moin
Joseph A. Sholtis, Jr.
Steven J. Zinkle

The following topics were discussed in the closed sessions:

Discussion on Report writing
Reviewing of past presentations for writing groups

The following materials (written documents) were made available to the committee in the closed sessions:

none

Date of posting of Closed Session Summary:

October 29, 2021

Contact

Alan Angleman

(757) 636-4625
aangleman@nas.edu

Disclaimer

It is essential to the National Academies mission of providing evidence-based advice that participants in any of our meetings or events avoid political or partisan statements or commentary and maintain a culture of mutual respect. The statements and presentations during our meetings or events are solely those of the individual participants and do not necessarily represent the views of other participants or the National Academy of Sciences, which is a non-partisan, tax exempt organization that includes under its Charter the National Academy of Engineering and National Academy of Medicine, and that operates the National Research Council.

Meeting Closed

Space Nuclear Propulsion Technologies Committee Meeting 13 - Committee Deliberations (Closed Session)

August 31, 2020

1:00 PM - 4:00 PM (ET)

Past

About

This is a closed meeting for the Space Nuclear Propulsion Committee members only. That consist of dicussion and planning for future meetings.

Study Statement of Work
The National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine will convene an ad hoc committee to identify primary technical and programmatic challenges, merits, and risks for developing and demonstrating space nuclear propulsion technologies of interest to future exploration missions. Nuclear propulsion has been shown to offer the potential for rapid human transit to Mars with one-way transit times less than 9 months and total roundtrip times including Mars surface stays less than 3 years. The committee will also determine the key milestones and a top-level development and demonstration roadmap for each technology. Additionally, the committee will identify missions that could be enabled by successful development of each technology.

The space nuclear propulsion technologies of specific interest are:

1. High-performance nuclear thermal propulsion (NTP) that heats hydrogen propellant to 2500K or more and produces specific thrust of at least 900 seconds.

2. Nuclear electric propulsion (NEP) that converts thermal energy to electricity to power plasma thrusters for highly efficient and rapid transport of large payloads ( e.g., a propulsion system with a power level of at least 1 MWe and a mass-to-power ratio (kg/kWe) that is substantially lower than the current state of the art of NEP systems).

Additional Information

Is it a Closed Session event?

Institution Closed

The following committee members were present at the closed sessions of the event

Robert D. Braun
Roger M. Myers
Shannon Bragg-Sitton
Jonathan W. Cirtain
Tabitha R. Dodson
Alec D. Gallimore
James H. Gilland
Bhavya Lal
Parviz Moin
Joseph A. Sholtis, Jr.
Steven J. Zinkle

The following topics were discussed in the closed sessions:

Discussion on Report writing
Reviewing of past presentations for group discussion
Future plans for SNPT

The following materials (written documents) were made available to the committee in the closed sessions:

none

Date of posting of Closed Session Summary:

September 02, 2020

Contact

Alan Angleman

(757) 636-4625
aangleman@nas.edu

Disclaimer

It is essential to the National Academies mission of providing evidence-based advice that participants in any of our meetings or events avoid political or partisan statements or commentary and maintain a culture of mutual respect. The statements and presentations during our meetings or events are solely those of the individual participants and do not necessarily represent the views of other participants or the National Academy of Sciences, which is a non-partisan, tax exempt organization that includes under its Charter the National Academy of Engineering and National Academy of Medicine, and that operates the National Research Council.

Meeting Closed

Space Nuclear Propulsion Technologies Committee Meeting 12 - Committee Deliberations (Closed Session)

August 24, 2020

2:00 PM - 4:00 PM (ET)

Past

About

This is a closed meeting for the Space Nuclear Propulsion Committee members only. That consist of dicussion and planning for future meetings.

Study Statement of Work
The National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine will convene an ad hoc committee to identify primary technical and programmatic challenges, merits, and risks for developing and demonstrating space nuclear propulsion technologies of interest to future exploration missions. Nuclear propulsion has been shown to offer the potential for rapid human transit to Mars with one-way transit times less than 9 months and total roundtrip times including Mars surface stays less than 3 years. The committee will also determine the key milestones and a top-level development and demonstration roadmap for each technology. Additionally, the committee will identify missions that could be enabled by successful development of each technology.

The space nuclear propulsion technologies of specific interest are:

1. High-performance nuclear thermal propulsion (NTP) that heats hydrogen propellant to 2500K or more and produces specific thrust of at least 900 seconds.

2. Nuclear electric propulsion (NEP) that converts thermal energy to electricity to power plasma thrusters for highly efficient and rapid transport of large payloads ( e.g., a propulsion system with a power level of at least 1 MWe and a mass-to-power ratio (kg/kWe) that is substantially lower than the current state of the art of NEP systems).

Additional Information

Is it a Closed Session event?

Institution Closed

The following committee members were present at the closed sessions of the event

Robert D. Braun
Roger M. Myers
Shannon Bragg-Sitton
Jonathan W. Cirtain
Tabitha R. Dodson
Alec D. Gallimore
James H. Gilland
Bhavya Lal
Parviz Moin
Joseph A. Sholtis, Jr.
Steven J. Zinkle

The following topics were discussed in the closed sessions:

Committee discussion of Report writing
Review of past presentation for group discussions
Organization of report

The following materials (written documents) were made available to the committee in the closed sessions:

none

Date of posting of Closed Session Summary:

October 29, 2021

Contact

Alan Angleman

(757) 636-4625
aangleman@nas.edu

Disclaimer

It is essential to the National Academies mission of providing evidence-based advice that participants in any of our meetings or events avoid political or partisan statements or commentary and maintain a culture of mutual respect. The statements and presentations during our meetings or events are solely those of the individual participants and do not necessarily represent the views of other participants or the National Academy of Sciences, which is a non-partisan, tax exempt organization that includes under its Charter the National Academy of Engineering and National Academy of Medicine, and that operates the National Research Council.

Meeting Closed

Space Nuclear Propulsion Technologies Committee Meeting 11 - Committee Deliberations (Closed Session)

August 17, 2020

1:00 PM - 4:00 PM (ET)

Past

About

This is a closed meeting for the Space Nuclear Propulsion Committee members only. That consist of dicussion and planning for future meetings.

Study Statement of Work
The National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine will convene an ad hoc committee to identify primary technical and programmatic challenges, merits, and risks for developing and demonstrating space nuclear propulsion technologies of interest to future exploration missions. Nuclear propulsion has been shown to offer the potential for rapid human transit to Mars with one-way transit times less than 9 months and total roundtrip times including Mars surface stays less than 3 years. The committee will also determine the key milestones and a top-level development and demonstration roadmap for each technology. Additionally, the committee will identify missions that could be enabled by successful development of each technology.

The space nuclear propulsion technologies of specific interest are:

1. High-performance nuclear thermal propulsion (NTP) that heats hydrogen propellant to 2500K or more and produces specific thrust of at least 900 seconds.

2. Nuclear electric propulsion (NEP) that converts thermal energy to electricity to power plasma thrusters for highly efficient and rapid transport of large payloads ( e.g., a propulsion system with a power level of at least 1 MWe and a mass-to-power ratio (kg/kWe) that is substantially lower than the current state of the art of NEP systems).

Additional Information

Is it a Closed Session event?

Institution Closed

The following committee members were present at the closed sessions of the event

Robert D. Braun
Roger M. Myers
Shannon Bragg-Sitton
Jonathan W. Cirtain
Tabitha R. Dodson
Alec D. Gallimore
James H. Gilland
Bhavya Lal
Parviz Moin
Joseph A. Sholtis, Jr.
Steven J. Zinkle

The following topics were discussed in the closed sessions:

Committee discussions on previous presentations
Group writing and discussion of report
Organizing the report chapters

The following materials (written documents) were made available to the committee in the closed sessions:

none

Date of posting of Closed Session Summary:

August 19, 2020

Contact

Alan Angleman

(757) 636-4625
aangleman@nas.edu

Disclaimer

It is essential to the National Academies mission of providing evidence-based advice that participants in any of our meetings or events avoid political or partisan statements or commentary and maintain a culture of mutual respect. The statements and presentations during our meetings or events are solely those of the individual participants and do not necessarily represent the views of other participants or the National Academy of Sciences, which is a non-partisan, tax exempt organization that includes under its Charter the National Academy of Engineering and National Academy of Medicine, and that operates the National Research Council.

Meeting Closed

Space Nuclear Propulsion Technologies Committee Meeting 10 - Committee Deliberations (Closed Session)

August 10, 2020

1:00 PM - 4:00 PM (ET)

Past

About

This is a closed meeting for the Space Nuclear Propulsion Committee members only. That consist of dicussion and planning for future meetings.

Study Statement of Work
The National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine will convene an ad hoc committee to identify primary technical and programmatic challenges, merits, and risks for developing and demonstrating space nuclear propulsion technologies of interest to future exploration missions. Nuclear propulsion has been shown to offer the potential for rapid human transit to Mars with one-way transit times less than 9 months and total roundtrip times including Mars surface stays less than 3 years. The committee will also determine the key milestones and a top-level development and demonstration roadmap for each technology. Additionally, the committee will identify missions that could be enabled by successful development of each technology.

The space nuclear propulsion technologies of specific interest are:

1. High-performance nuclear thermal propulsion (NTP) that heats hydrogen propellant to 2500K or more and produces specific thrust of at least 900 seconds.

2. Nuclear electric propulsion (NEP) that converts thermal energy to electricity to power plasma thrusters for highly efficient and rapid transport of large payloads ( e.g., a propulsion system with a power level of at least 1 MWe and a mass-to-power ratio (kg/kWe) that is substantially lower than the current state of the art of NEP systems).

Additional Information

Is it a Closed Session event?

Institution Closed

The following committee members were present at the closed sessions of the event

Robert D. Braun
Roger M. Myers
Shannon Bragg-Sitton
Jonathan W. Cirtain
Tabitha R. Dodson
Alec D. Gallimore
James H. Gilland
Bhavya Lal
Parviz Moin
Joseph A. Sholtis, Jr.
Steven J. Zinkle

The following topics were discussed in the closed sessions:

Report organizing
group writing and discussions

The following materials (written documents) were made available to the committee in the closed sessions:

none

Date of posting of Closed Session Summary:

October 29, 2021

Contact

Alan Angleman

(757) 636-4625
aangleman@nas.edu

Disclaimer

It is essential to the National Academies mission of providing evidence-based advice that participants in any of our meetings or events avoid political or partisan statements or commentary and maintain a culture of mutual respect. The statements and presentations during our meetings or events are solely those of the individual participants and do not necessarily represent the views of other participants or the National Academy of Sciences, which is a non-partisan, tax exempt organization that includes under its Charter the National Academy of Engineering and National Academy of Medicine, and that operates the National Research Council.

Meeting Closed

Space Nuclear Propulsion Technologies Committee Meeting 9 - Committee Deliberations (Closed Session)

August 3, 2020

1:00 PM - 4:00 PM (ET)

Past

About

This is a closed meeting for the Space Nuclear Propulsion Committee members only. That consist of dicussion and planning for future meetings.

Study Statement of Work
The National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine will convene an ad hoc committee to identify primary technical and programmatic challenges, merits, and risks for developing and demonstrating space nuclear propulsion technologies of interest to future exploration missions. Nuclear propulsion has been shown to offer the potential for rapid human transit to Mars with one-way transit times less than 9 months and total roundtrip times including Mars surface stays less than 3 years. The committee will also determine the key milestones and a top-level development and demonstration roadmap for each technology. Additionally, the committee will identify missions that could be enabled by successful development of each technology.

The space nuclear propulsion technologies of specific interest are:

1. High-performance nuclear thermal propulsion (NTP) that heats hydrogen propellant to 2500K or more and produces specific thrust of at least 900 seconds.

2. Nuclear electric propulsion (NEP) that converts thermal energy to electricity to power plasma thrusters for highly efficient and rapid transport of large payloads ( e.g., a propulsion system with a power level of at least 1 MWe and a mass-to-power ratio (kg/kWe) that is substantially lower than the current state of the art of NEP systems).

Additional Information

Is it a Closed Session event?

Institution Closed

The following committee members were present at the closed sessions of the event

Robert D. Braun
Roger M. Myers
Shannon Bragg-Sitton
Jonathan W. Cirtain
Tabitha R. Dodson
Alec D. Gallimore
James H. Gilland
Bhavya Lal
Parviz Moin
Joseph A. Sholtis, Jr.
Steven J. Zinkle

The following topics were discussed in the closed sessions:

Committee Discussion on Report
Review of previous presentations
Organizing the report chapters

The following materials (written documents) were made available to the committee in the closed sessions:

none

Date of posting of Closed Session Summary:

August 05, 2020

Contact

Alan Angleman

(757) 636-4625
aangleman@nas.edu

Disclaimer

It is essential to the National Academies mission of providing evidence-based advice that participants in any of our meetings or events avoid political or partisan statements or commentary and maintain a culture of mutual respect. The statements and presentations during our meetings or events are solely those of the individual participants and do not necessarily represent the views of other participants or the National Academy of Sciences, which is a non-partisan, tax exempt organization that includes under its Charter the National Academy of Engineering and National Academy of Medicine, and that operates the National Research Council.

Meeting Closed

Space Nuclear Propulsion Technologies Committee Meeting 8 - Committee Deliberations (Closed Session)

July 27, 2020

1:00 PM - 4:00 PM (ET)

Past

About

This is a closed meeting for the Space Nuclear Propulsion Committee members only. That consist of dicussion and planning for future meetings.

Study Statement of Work
The National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine will convene an ad hoc committee to identify primary technical and programmatic challenges, merits, and risks for developing and demonstrating space nuclear propulsion technologies of interest to future exploration missions. Nuclear propulsion has been shown to offer the potential for rapid human transit to Mars with one-way transit times less than 9 months and total roundtrip times including Mars surface stays less than 3 years. The committee will also determine the key milestones and a top-level development and demonstration roadmap for each technology. Additionally, the committee will identify missions that could be enabled by successful development of each technology.

The space nuclear propulsion technologies of specific interest are:

1. High-performance nuclear thermal propulsion (NTP) that heats hydrogen propellant to 2500K or more and produces specific thrust of at least 900 seconds.

2. Nuclear electric propulsion (NEP) that converts thermal energy to electricity to power plasma thrusters for highly efficient and rapid transport of large payloads ( e.g., a propulsion system with a power level of at least 1 MWe and a mass-to-power ratio (kg/kWe) that is substantially lower than the current state of the art of NEP systems).

Additional Information

Is it a Closed Session event?

Institution Closed

The following committee members were present at the closed sessions of the event

Robert D. Braun
Roger M. Myers
Shannon Bragg-Sitton
Jonathan W. Cirtain
Tabitha R. Dodson
Alec D. Gallimore
James H. Gilland
Bhavya Lal
Parviz Moin
Joseph A. Sholtis, Jr.
Steven J. Zinkle

The following topics were discussed in the closed sessions:

Committee discussion on previous presentations
Organizing the report
Group writing and review

The following materials (written documents) were made available to the committee in the closed sessions:

n/a

Date of posting of Closed Session Summary:

October 29, 2021

Contact

Alan Angleman

(757) 636-4625
aangleman@nas.edu

Disclaimer

It is essential to the National Academies mission of providing evidence-based advice that participants in any of our meetings or events avoid political or partisan statements or commentary and maintain a culture of mutual respect. The statements and presentations during our meetings or events are solely those of the individual participants and do not necessarily represent the views of other participants or the National Academy of Sciences, which is a non-partisan, tax exempt organization that includes under its Charter the National Academy of Engineering and National Academy of Medicine, and that operates the National Research Council.

Meeting

Space Nuclear Propulsion Technologies Committee Meeting 7 - Additional Perspectives on NEP/NTP

July 13, 2020

1:00 PM - 4:00 PM (ET)

Past

Agenda

Download the Agenda

About

This is a meeting of the Space Nuclear Propulsion Committee that will focus on discussions with industry. The study statement of task appears below. The open session of the meeting will run from 2pm to 4:20pm EDT. This will be followed by a closed session for committee members only. The agenda for the open session is as follows:

2pm EDT Welcome by the Committee Co-chairs

2:05 EDT Presentations
Mitchell Walker, Ga Tech (45 min)
Jonathan Witter, BWXT (45 min)
Paolo Venneri, USNC (Ultra Safe Nuclear Corporation) (45 min)

4:20pm EDT Open session adjourns.

RECORDING OF THE MEETING
This meeting will be recorded on Zoom by the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine (“The Academies”). Please be aware that by attending the meeting, you consent to your voice being recorded for use by The Academies for the purpose of note-taking. This recording will not be publicly released, shared outside of The Academies, or used for other public purposes.

ZOOM INFO
URL: https://nasem.zoom.us/j/96576342052
Meeting ID: 965 7634 2052
Password: See below.

If you would like to participate, please provide Gaybrielle Holbert(gholbert@nas.edu), with your name, organization, and phone number, and she will send you the password. Individuals will only be allowed into the meeting if they have registered, and if their zoom ID contains at least their registered last name, even if they have the password.

Zoom Etiquette: Everyone other than committee members, speakers, ASEB staff, and key NASA staff are requested to remain muted with your webcam off during the meeting. Should you have a question, please submit it to the staff in the chat box and if time allows, the question will be raised.

Nature of Information Gathering Meetings by Committees of the National Academies
This meeting is being held to gather information to help the committee conduct its study. This committee will examine the information and material obtained during this, and other public meetings, in an effort to inform its work. Although opinions may be stated and lively discussion may ensue, no conclusions are being drawn at this time and no recommendations will be made. In fact, the committee will deliberate thoroughly before writing its draft report. Moreover, once the draft report is written, it must go through a rigorous review by experts who are anonymous to the committee, and the committee then must respond to this review with appropriate revisions that adequately satisfy the Academy’s Report Review committee and the chair of the NRC before it is considered an NRC report. Therefore, observers who draw conclusions about the committee’s work based on today’s discussions will be doing so prematurely. Furthermore, individual committee members often engage in discussion and questioning for the specific purpose of probing an issue and sharpening an argument. The comments of any given committee member may not necessarily reflect the position he or she may actually hold on the subject under discussion, to say nothing of that person’s future position as it may evolve in the course of the project. Any inferences about an individual’s position regarding findings or recommendations in the final report are therefore also premature.

Study Statement of Work
The National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine will convene an ad hoc committee to identify primary technical and programmatic challenges, merits, and risks for developing and demonstrating space nuclear propulsion technologies of interest to future exploration missions. Nuclear propulsion has been shown to offer the potential for rapid human transit to Mars with one-way transit times less than 9 months and total roundtrip times including Mars surface stays less than 3 years. The committee will also determine the key milestones and a top-level development and demonstration roadmap for each technology. Additionally, the committee will identify missions that could be enabled by successful development of each technology.

The space nuclear propulsion technologies of specific interest are:

1. High-performance nuclear thermal propulsion (NTP) that heats hydrogen propellant to 2500K or more and produces specific thrust of at least 900 seconds.

2. Nuclear electric propulsion (NEP) that converts thermal energy to electricity to power plasma thrusters for highly efficient and rapid transport of large payloads ( e.g., a propulsion system with a power level of at least 1 MWe and a mass-to-power ratio (kg/kWe) that is substantially lower than the current state of the art of NEP systems).

Additional Information

Is it a Closed Session event?

Partially Closed

The following committee members were present at the closed sessions of the event

Robert D. Braun
Roger M. Myers
Shannon Bragg-Sitton
Jonathan W. Cirtain
Tabitha R. Dodson
Alec D. Gallimore
James H. Gilland
Bhavya Lal
Parviz Moin
Joseph A. Sholtis, Jr.
Steven J. Zinkle

The following topics were discussed in the closed sessions:

Discussion of Industry Presentations
Future meetings: Organizations, speakers, and questions for speakers

The following materials (written documents) were made available to the committee in the closed sessions:

n/a

Date of posting of Closed Session Summary:

October 29, 2021

Contact

Gaybrielle Holbert

(202) 334-2558
gholbert@nas.edu

Disclaimer

It is essential to the National Academies mission of providing evidence-based advice that participants in any of our meetings or events avoid political or partisan statements or commentary and maintain a culture of mutual respect. The statements and presentations during our meetings or events are solely those of the individual participants and do not necessarily represent the views of other participants or the National Academy of Sciences, which is a non-partisan, tax exempt organization that includes under its Charter the National Academy of Engineering and National Academy of Medicine, and that operates the National Research Council.

Meeting

Space Nuclear Propulsion Technologies Committee Meeting 6 - Industry Perspectives on NEP/NTP

June 29, 2020

1:00 PM - 4:00 PM (ET)

Past

Agenda

Download the Agenda

About

This is a meeting of the Space Nuclear Propulsion Committee that will focus on discussions with industry. The study statement task appears below. The open session of the meeting will run from 2pm to 3:50pm EDT. This will be followed by a closed session for committee members only. The agenda for the open session is as follows:

2pm EDT Welcome by the Committee Co-chairs

2:05 EDT Presentations by Industry

Russ Joyner, Aerojet Rocketdyne (60 min)

Brett Drake, Aerospace Corp. (45 min)

3:50pm EDT Open session adjourns.

RECORDING OF THE MEETING
This meeting will be recorded on Zoom by the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine (“The Academies”). Please be aware that by attending the meeting, you consent to your voice being recorded for use by The Academies for the purpose of note-taking. This recording will not be publicly released, shared outside of The Academies, or used for other public purposes.

ZOOM INFO
URL: https://nasem.zoom.us/j/95269892304
Meeting ID: 952 6989 2304
Password: See below.

If you would like to participate, please provide Gaybrielle Holbert(gholbert@nas.edu), with your name, organization, and phone number, and she will send you the password. Individuals will only be allowed into the meeting if they have registered, and if their zoom ID contains at least their registered last name, even if they have the password.

Zoom Etiquette: Everyone other than committee members, speakers, ASEB staff, and key NASA staff are requested to remain muted with your webcam off during the meeting. Should you have a question, please submit it to the staff in the chat box and if time allows, the question will be raised.

Nature of Information Gathering Meetings by Committees of the National Academies
This meeting is being held to gather information to help the committee conduct its study. This committee will examine the information and material obtained during this, and other public meetings, in an effort to inform its work. Although opinions may be stated and lively discussion may ensue, no conclusions are being drawn at this time and no recommendations will be made. In fact, the committee will deliberate thoroughly before writing its draft report. Moreover, once the draft report is written, it must go through a rigorous review by experts who are anonymous to the committee, and the committee then must respond to this review with appropriate revisions that adequately satisfy the Academy’s Report Review committee and the chair of the NRC before it is considered an NRC report. Therefore, observers who draw conclusions about the committee’s work based on today’s discussions will be doing so prematurely. Furthermore, individual committee members often engage in discussion and questioning for the specific purpose of probing an issue and sharpening an argument. The comments of any given committee member may not necessarily reflect the position he or she may actually hold on the subject under discussion, to say nothing of that person’s future position as it may evolve in the course of the project. Any inferences about an individual’s position regarding findings or recommendations in the final report are therefore also premature.

Study Statement of Work
The National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine will convene an ad hoc committee to identify primary technical and programmatic challenges, merits, and risks for developing and demonstrating space nuclear propulsion technologies of interest to future exploration missions. Nuclear propulsion has been shown to offer the potential for rapid human transit to Mars with one-way transit times less than 9 months and total roundtrip times including Mars surface stays less than 3 years. The committee will also determine the key milestones and a top-level development and demonstration roadmap for each technology. Additionally, the committee will identify missions that could be enabled by successful development of each technology.

The space nuclear propulsion technologies of specific interest are:

1. High-performance nuclear thermal propulsion (NTP) that heats hydrogen propellant to 2500K or more and produces specific thrust of at least 900 seconds.

2. Nuclear electric propulsion (NEP) that converts thermal energy to electricity to power plasma thrusters for highly efficient and rapid transport of large payloads ( e.g., a propulsion system with a power level of at least 1 MWe and a mass-to-power ratio (kg/kWe) that is substantially lower than the current state of the art of NEP systems).

Additional Information

Is it a Closed Session event?

Partially Closed

The following committee members were present at the closed sessions of the event

Robert D. Braun
Roger M. Myers
Shannon Bragg-Sitton
Jonathan W. Cirtain
Tabitha R. Dodson
Alec D. Gallimore
James H. Gilland
Bhavya Lal
Parviz Moin
Joseph A. Sholtis, Jr.
Steven J. Zinkle

The following topics were discussed in the closed sessions:

Discussion on presentations from the Industry
Future planning of meeting and Follow-questions questions for speakers

The following materials (written documents) were made available to the committee in the closed sessions:

n/a

Date of posting of Closed Session Summary:

July 01, 2020

Contact

Gaybrielle Holbert

(202) 334-2558
gholbert@nas.edu

Disclaimer

It is essential to the National Academies mission of providing evidence-based advice that participants in any of our meetings or events avoid political or partisan statements or commentary and maintain a culture of mutual respect. The statements and presentations during our meetings or events are solely those of the individual participants and do not necessarily represent the views of other participants or the National Academy of Sciences, which is a non-partisan, tax exempt organization that includes under its Charter the National Academy of Engineering and National Academy of Medicine, and that operates the National Research Council.

Meeting

Space Nuclear Propulsion Technologies Committee Meeting 5 - DOE Perspectives on NEP/NTP

June 22, 2020

1:00 PM - 3:30 PM (ET)

Past

Materials

2. Rao -nep-nas

About

This is a meeting of the Space Nuclear Propulsion Committee that will focus on discussions with the Department of Energy. The open session of the meeting will run from 2pm to 4:30pm EDT. This will be followed by a 30 minute closed session for committee members only. The agenda for the open session is as follows:

2pm EDT Welcome by the Committee Co-chairs

2:15 EDT Presentations by DOE
NTP
Dr. Douglas Burns, Program Manager for Space Nuclear
Propulsion Technology Development, Idaho National Laboratory

NEP
Dr. V. Rao Dasari (D. V. Rao), Director of the Office of Civilian
Nuclear Programs, Los Alamos National Laboratory

4:30pm EDT Open session adjourns.

RECORDING OF THE MEETING
This meeting will be recorded on Zoom by the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine (“The Academies”). Please be aware that by attending the meeting, you consent to your voice being recorded for use by The Academies for the purpose of note-taking. This recording will not be publicly released, shared outside of The Academies, or used for other public purposes.

ZOOM INFO
URL: https://nasem.zoom.us/j/98989213739
Meeting ID: 989 8921 3739
Password: See below.

If you would like to participate, please provide Gaybrielle Holbert(gholbert@nas.edu), with your name, organization, and phone number, and she will send you the password. Individuals will only be allowed into the meeting if they have registered, and their zoom ID is their registered last name, even if they have the password.

Zoom Etiquette: Everyone other than committee members, speakers, ASEB staff, and key NASA staff are requested to remain muted with your webcam off during the meeting. Should you have a question, please submit it to the staff in the chat box and if time allows, the question will be raised.

Nature of Information Gathering Meetings by Committees of the National Academies
This meeting is being held to gather information to help the committee conduct its study. This committee will examine the information and material obtained during this, and other public meetings, in an effort to inform its work. Although opinions may be stated and lively discussion may ensue, no conclusions are being drawn at this time and no recommendations will be made. In fact, the committee will deliberate thoroughly before writing its draft report. Moreover, once the draft report is written, it must go through a rigorous review by experts who are anonymous to the committee, and the committee then must respond to this review with appropriate revisions that adequately satisfy the Academy’s Report Review committee and the chair of the NRC before it is considered an NRC report. Therefore, observers who draw conclusions about the committee’s work based on today’s discussions will be doing so prematurely. Furthermore, individual committee members often engage in discussion and questioning for the specific purpose of probing an issue and sharpening an argument. The comments of any given committee member may not necessarily reflect the position he or she may actually hold on the subject under discussion, to say nothing of that person’s future position as it may evolve in the course of the project. Any inferences about an individual’s position regarding findings or recommendations in the final report are therefore also premature.

Study Statement of Work
The National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine will convene an ad hoc committee to identify primary technical and programmatic challenges, merits, and risks for developing and demonstrating space nuclear propulsion technologies of interest to future exploration missions. Nuclear propulsion has been shown to offer the potential for rapid human transit to Mars with one-way transit times less than 9 months and total roundtrip times including Mars surface stays less than 3 years. The committee will also determine the key milestones and a top-level development and demonstration roadmap for each technology. Additionally, the committee will identify missions that could be enabled by successful development of each technology.

The space nuclear propulsion technologies of specific interest are:

1. High-performance nuclear thermal propulsion (NTP) that heats hydrogen propellant to 2500K or more and produces specific thrust of at least 900 seconds.

2. Nuclear electric propulsion (NEP) that converts thermal energy to electricity to power plasma thrusters for highly efficient and rapid transport of large payloads ( e.g., a propulsion system with a power level of at least 1 MWe and a mass-to-power ratio (kg/kWe) that is substantially lower than the current state of the art of NEP systems).

Additional Information

Is it a Closed Session event?

Partially Closed

The following committee members were present at the closed sessions of the event

Robert D. Braun
Roger M. Myers
Shannon Bragg-Sitton
Jonathan W. Cirtain
Tabitha R. Dodson
Alec D. Gallimore
James H. Gilland
Bhavya Lal
Parviz Moin
Joseph A. Sholtis, Jr.
Steven J. Zinkle

The following topics were discussed in the closed sessions:

Content of the day's briefings
Follow-up questions for DOE
Updates to the report outline
Updates to report writing assignments
Plans for future meetings

The following materials (written documents) were made available to the committee in the closed sessions:

None

Date of posting of Closed Session Summary:

June 25, 2020

Contact

Gaybrielle Holbert

(202) 334-2558
gholbert@nas.edu

Disclaimer

It is essential to the National Academies mission of providing evidence-based advice that participants in any of our meetings or events avoid political or partisan statements or commentary and maintain a culture of mutual respect. The statements and presentations during our meetings or events are solely those of the individual participants and do not necessarily represent the views of other participants or the National Academy of Sciences, which is a non-partisan, tax exempt organization that includes under its Charter the National Academy of Engineering and National Academy of Medicine, and that operates the National Research Council.

Closed

Space Nuclear Propulsion Technologies Committee Meeting 4 – Committee Deliberations (Closed Session)

June 15, 2020

6:00 AM - 4:00 PM (ET)

Past

About

This is a closed meeting for the Space Nuclear Propulsion Committee members only. That consist of dicussion and planning for future meetings.

Study Statement of Work
The National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine will convene an ad hoc committee to identify primary technical and programmatic challenges, merits, and risks for developing and demonstrating space nuclear propulsion technologies of interest to future exploration missions. Nuclear propulsion has been shown to offer the potential for rapid human transit to Mars with one-way transit times less than 9 months and total roundtrip times including Mars surface stays less than 3 years. The committee will also determine the key milestones and a top-level development and demonstration roadmap for each technology. Additionally, the committee will identify missions that could be enabled by successful development of each technology.

The space nuclear propulsion technologies of specific interest are:

1. High-performance nuclear thermal propulsion (NTP) that heats hydrogen propellant to 2500K or more and produces specific thrust of at least 900 seconds.

2. Nuclear electric propulsion (NEP) that converts thermal energy to electricity to power plasma thrusters for highly efficient and rapid transport of large payloads ( e.g., a propulsion system with a power level of at least 1 MWe and a mass-to-power ratio (kg/kWe) that is substantially lower than the current state of the art of NEP systems).

Additional Information

Is it a Closed Session event?

Institution Closed

The following committee members were present at the closed sessions of the event

Robert D. Braun
Roger M. Myers
Shannon Bragg-Sitton
Jonathan W. Cirtain
Tabitha R. Dodson
Alec D. Gallimore
James H. Gilland
Bhavya Lal
Parviz Moin
Joseph A. Sholtis, Jr.
Steven J. Zinkle

The following topics were discussed in the closed sessions:

Report Outline
Meeting Schedule
Speakers at Future Meetings

The following materials (written documents) were made available to the committee in the closed sessions:

None

Date of posting of Closed Session Summary:

June 22, 2020

Contact

Gaybrielle Holbert

(202) 334-2558
gholbert@nas.edu

Disclaimer

It is essential to the National Academies mission of providing evidence-based advice that participants in any of our meetings or events avoid political or partisan statements or commentary and maintain a culture of mutual respect. The statements and presentations during our meetings or events are solely those of the individual participants and do not necessarily represent the views of other participants or the National Academy of Sciences, which is a non-partisan, tax exempt organization that includes under its Charter the National Academy of Engineering and National Academy of Medicine, and that operates the National Research Council.

Meeting

Space Nuclear Propulsion Technologies Committee Meeting 2 - NASA Perspective on the SNP Study and NEP/NTP Research and Studies

June 1, 2020

2:00 PM - 3:00 PM (ET)

Past

Materials

About

This is a meeting of the Space Nuclear Propulsion Committee that will focus on discussions with NASA's Space Technology Mission Directorate (STMD). The open session of the meeting will run from 2pm to 4pm EDT. This will be followed by a closed session for committee members only. The agenda for the open session is as follows:

2pm EDT Welcome by the Committee Co-chairs

2:15 EDT Presentations by STMD staff

4pm EDT Open session adjourns.

RECORDING OF THE MEETING
This meeting will be recorded on Zoom by the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine (“The Academies”). Please be aware that by attending the meeting, you consent to your voice being recorded for use by The Academies for the purpose of note-taking. This recording will not be publicly released, shared outside of The Academies, or used for other public purposes.

ZOOM INFO
URL: https://nasem.zoom.us/j/96660386050?
Meeting ID: 966 6038 6050
Password: See below.

If you would like to participate, please provide Gaybrielle Holbert(gholbert@nas.edu), with your name, organization, and phone number, and she will send you the password. Individuals will only be allowed into the meeting if they have registered, even if they have the password.

Zoom Etiquette: Everyone other than committee members, speakers, ASEB staff, and key NASA staff are requested to remain muted with your webcam off during the meeting. Should you have a question, please submit it to the staff in the chat box and if time allows, the question will be raised.

Additional Information

Is it a Closed Session event?

Partially Closed

The following committee members were present at the closed sessions of the event

Robert D. Braun
Roger M. Myers
Shannon Bragg-Sitton
Jonathan W. Cirtain
Tabitha R. Dodson
Alec D. Gallimore
James H. Gilland
Bhavya Lal
Parviz Moin
Joseph A. Sholtis, Jr.
Steven J. Zinkle

The following topics were discussed in the closed sessions:

Results of discussions with NASA
Planning of future meetings
Report outline

The following materials (written documents) were made available to the committee in the closed sessions:

None

Date of posting of Closed Session Summary:

June 02, 2020

Contact

Gaybrielle Holbert

(202) 334-2558
gholbert@nas.edu

Disclaimer

It is essential to the National Academies mission of providing evidence-based advice that participants in any of our meetings or events avoid political or partisan statements or commentary and maintain a culture of mutual respect. The statements and presentations during our meetings or events are solely those of the individual participants and do not necessarily represent the views of other participants or the National Academy of Sciences, which is a non-partisan, tax exempt organization that includes under its Charter the National Academy of Engineering and National Academy of Medicine, and that operates the National Research Council.

Meeting Closed

Space Nuclear Propulsion Technologies - Committee Meeting 1 -- Closed Session for Discussion and Planning

May 18, 2020

1:00 PM - 4:00 PM (ET)

Past

About

This is a closed meeting for the Space Nuclear Propulsion Committee. That consist of dicussion and planning for future meetings.

Additional Information

Is it a Closed Session event?

Institution Closed

The following committee members were present at the closed sessions of the event

Roger Myers Co-Chair, Bobby Braun Co-Chair, Shannon Bragg-Sitton, Jonathan Cirtain, Tabitha Dodson, Alec Gallimore, Jim Gilland, Bhayva Lal, Parvis Moin, Joseph Sholtis, Steven Zinkle.

The following topics were discussed in the closed sessions:

Discussion of committee composition and balance.
Discussion and planning of future meetings.

The following materials (written documents) were made available to the committee in the closed sessions:

None

Date of posting of Closed Session Summary:

June 02, 2020

Contact

Alan Angleman

(757) 636-4625
aangleman@nas.edu

Disclaimer

It is essential to the National Academies mission of providing evidence-based advice that participants in any of our meetings or events avoid political or partisan statements or commentary and maintain a culture of mutual respect. The statements and presentations during our meetings or events are solely those of the individual participants and do not necessarily represent the views of other participants or the National Academy of Sciences, which is a non-partisan, tax exempt organization that includes under its Charter the National Academy of Engineering and National Academy of Medicine, and that operates the National Research Council.

Log In

Sign in to access your saved publications, downloads, and email preferences.

Former MyNAP users: You'll need to reset your password on your first login to MyAcademies. Click "Forgot password" below to receive a reset link via email. Having trouble? Visit our FAQ page to contact support.

Members of the National Academy of Sciences, National Academy of Engineering, or National Academy of Medicine should log in through their respective Academy portals.

Email (required)
Password (required)

Don't have an account?

Register

Email (required)
New password (required)
Retype password (required) Password must be at least 8 characters
I accept the terms of use
terms of use

Thank You

Thank you for creating a MyAcademies account!

Enjoy free access to thousands of National Academies' publications, a 10% discount off every purchase, and build your personal library.

Forgot Password

Enter the email address for your MyAcademies (formerly MyNAP) account to receive password reset instructions.

Reset Requested

We sent password reset instructions to your email . Follow the link in that email to create a new password. Didn't receive it? Check your spam folder or contact us for assistance.

Reset Password

New password (required)
Retype password (required) Password must be at least 8 characters

Reset Password

Your password has been reset.

Log In

Verify email

Verify Your Email Address

We sent a verification link to your email. Please check your inbox (and spam folder) and follow the link to verify your email address. If you did not receive the email, you can request a new verification link below

Subscribe

First Name
Last Name
Email (required)
I agree to receive emails from the National Academies (required)

We respect your privacy and will never share your information.

My Academies

Space Nuclear Propulsion Technologies

Dropdown items

Space Nuclear Propulsion for Human Mars Exploration Report Briefing