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NASA’s nuclear power plans face higher hurdles
Nuclear power for Mars or Venus?
JPL’s Casani said that a shorter-duration Prometheus mission, done in the 2014 time frame, is a lot easier to do. Not only are reactor requirements reduced, but so too is the wear and tear on the craft’s electric engines. Telecommunication demands are also lessened.
Last year, an early list of possible Prometheus demonstration missions included treks to the moon or Mars, perhaps multiple asteroids, even a visit to cloud-veiled Venus. The final study result for a first-time "out of the chute" Prometheus demonstration is expected shortly.
"The one that’s most attractive, at least to me … is go to the moon. It is close and you get there soon. But it remains to be seen if that survives the analysis of alternatives," Casani said. Such a polar orbiting mission, he said, could fit well with the manned lunar activities now being scripted by NASA.
"Let’s say that everything is still working after three years. You spiral out of the moon’s orbit on an extended mission. If everything is working … go on to an asteroid," Casani speculated.
Casani said another set of Prometheus alternative missions is longer-range.
Going back to Titan, as follow-up to Europe’s recent landing success there with the Huygens probe, is reasonable to consider. Neptune’s Triton might also be a target. A scouting mission to Saturn’s rings, jumping from asteroid to asteroid, or comet chasing — all these ventures could be, quite literally, empowered by the Prometheus program, Casani said.
Designing in safety
Soon, the officials involved in planning the use of nuclear fission reactors in space will have to prepare what’s termed a Programmatic Environmental Impact Statement, or PEIS.
Later this month, NASA plans to hold two public scoping meetings — one in Cocoa, Fla., the other in Washington — to provide information on the Prometheus PEIS and to solicit public comments.
Also to be considered is the outlook that Prometheus may need new facilities such as a land-based prototype reactor to test the reactor design before actual use. Launch site support facilities for final assembly and testing of the spacecraft before launch would also likely be a must.
"It is everybody’s responsibility on this project to have safety as their highest priority …designing in the safety into the architecture and manufacturing for safety," said Northrop Grumman’s Nelson.
New spectrum of opportunities
A report released in February by the General Accountability Office noted that Prometheus 1 will surely undergo budgetary conniptions over the years. The project will compete for funds with other space missions, such as returning the space shuttle to flight and tidying up the international space station program.
In their report, the GAO pointed to a 2004 study by the Congressional Budget Office that pegged the JIMO cost estimate at around $10 billion.
The GAO report, "NASA’s Space Vision: Business Case for Prometheus 1 Needed to Ensure Requirements Match Available Resources," emphasized the need for "a sound business case" for the effort. To do so, a project must have well-defined requirements, realistic cost estimates and mature technology.
"However, in the past NASA has had difficulties developing the realistic requirements and cost estimates needed to develop a sound business case," the GAO report explained. Historically, therefore, some NASA projects have cost more, taken longer and achieved less than originally planned, the report cautioned.
"We all recognized from the beginning that this is expensive," explained JPL’s Casani. "This is a major investment in the capability. Unless there’s more than a single application for it, you can’t justify it. It can only be justified on the basis of opening up a new spectrum of opportunities."
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