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Copernical Team
SpaceDaily Streamlines Imaging Process with ChatGPT Technology
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New space capability mapping tool unveiled at the 2023 Avalon Airshow
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D-Orbit signs launch contract with Patriot Infovention
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Webb reveals intricate networks of gas, dust in nearby galaxies
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Does ice in the Universe contain the molecules making up the building blocks of life in planetary systems?
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New aurorae detected on Jupiter's four largest moons
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Study quantifies global impact of electricity in dust storms on Mars
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Biology and Robotics Research Occupy Crew
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Japan's H3 rocket fails to leave the launch pad
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An extremely lightweight fission rocket could reach the solar gravitational lens in 15 years
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Novel propulsion ideas for moving around space seem like they're a dime a dozen recently. Besides the typical argument between solar sails and chemical propulsion lies a potential third way—a nuclear rocket engine. While we've discussed them here at UT before, NASA's Institute of Advanced Concepts has provided a grant to a company called Positron Dynamics for the development of a novel type of nuclear fission fragment rocket engine (FFRE). It could strike the balance between the horsepower of chemical engines and the longevity of solar sails.
FFREs are not a new concept in themselves, but many have massive technical hurdles to overcome before they can be considered useful. Their advantages, such as high specific impulse and extremely high power density, are offset by their disadvantages, such as requiring a complicated form of plasma levitation.