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Kilopower is an experimental project aimed at producing a new design for nuclear reactors for space travel. The project started in October 2015, led by NASA and the Department of Energy’s National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA). The Kilopower reactors will come in a variety of sizes able to produce from one to 10 kilowatts of electrical power, continuously for 10 years or more. The fission reactor uses Uranium-235 to generate heat that is carried to the Stirling converters via passive sodium heat pipes.
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the core of the reactor will be of solid, cast uranium-235 surrounded by a beryllium oxide reflector. [...] Nuclear reaction control is provided by a single rod of boron carbide which is a neutron moderator
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As of September 2017 a test reactor has been constructed, called KRUSTY or Kilopower Reactor Using Stirling Technology. It is designed to produce up to 1 kilowatt of electric power and is about 1.9 meters tall.The goal of the KRUSTY experiment is to closely match the operational parameters that would be required in NASA deep space missions. The prototype Kilopower uses a solid, cast uranium-235 reactor core, about the size of a paper towel roll. Reactor heat is transferred via passive sodium heat pipes, with the heat being converted to electricity by Stirling engines. Testing to gain TRL 5 started in November 2017 and continued into 2018. The first tests used a depleted uranium core manufactured by Y-12 National Security Complex in Tennessee. The depleted uranium core is exactly the same material as the regular high-enriched uranium (HEU) core with the only difference being the level of uranium enrichment. The testing of KRUSTY represents the first time the United States has conducted ground tests on any space reactor since the SNAP-10A experimental reactor was tested and eventually flown in 1965.

During the November 2017 through March 2018 testing of KRUSTY with a real uranium-235 reactor core at Nevada National Security Site, the reactor was run successfully for 28 hours. Various faults in surrounding equipment were simulated to ensure the reactor could handle them safely.
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https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kilopower
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kilopower

Labels: Oleg Zabluda

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