General Atomics Electromagnetic Systems (GA-EMS) announced that it has successfully executed several significant high-impact tests at NASA’s Marshall Space Flight Center (MSFC) to advance the development of Nuclear Thermal Propulsion (NTP) reactor technology for rapid, agile cislunar transportation and deep space missions, including human missions to Mars. Tests were conducted in collaboration with NASA to verify the ability of the GA-EMS design-specific nuclear fuel to meet the high-performance specifications required to withstand the extreme operational conditions expected in space.
GA-EMS executed several high-impact tests at NASA’s MSFC in Huntsville, AL. The nuclear fuel was tested with hot hydrogen flow through the samples and subjected to six thermal cycles that rapidly ramped-up to a peak temperature of 2600 K (Kelvin) or 4220° Fahrenheit. Each cycle included a 20-minute hold at peak performance to demonstrate the effectiveness of shielding the fuel material from erosion and degradation by the hot hydrogen. Additional tests were performed with varying protective features to provide further data on how different material enhancements improve performance under reactor-like conditions.
GA-EMS conducted testing for NASA under a contract managed by Battelle Energy Alliance (BEA) – Idaho National Lab (INL).