Why can’t we build nuclear powered rockets in order to reach the moon or mars and the beyond?
We have nuclear powered subs, aircraft carriers etc.
I read the US tried in the early years of the Cold War but cancelled the program.
What gives?
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Nuclear powered subs and other ships use a nuclear-powered steam turbine to drive a propeller.
Propellers don’t work in space.
What you could do is bring a bunch of water and use a steam jet for propulsion, but water is really heavy so it’d be really inefficient. You could also explode a bunch of nuclear bombs behind you and ride the shockwave forward, which has obvious downsides as well
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