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This is episode 9 of the series on crazy nuclear rocket engines, where we will explore the nuclear salt water rocket
If you haven't watched it, please watch the introduction video now.
http://www.npl.washington.edu/AV/altvw56.html
The nuclear salt-water rocket takes a unique approach. Instead of trying to have a controlled reaction inside of the rocket core, it goes for the biggest reaction possible, a "detonation" of the nuclear fuel either inside the combustion chamber or inside the nozzle.
Note that the term "detonation" here is not an editorial comment but the description used by the engine designer
It uses water with 2% uranium tetrabromide in it as a dissolved salt. That is injected at high speed into the combustion chamber and it fissions very rapidly, generating a ton of energy and vaporizing the both the water with the fuel and additional water injected to protect the engine and structure.
The estimated thrust is about 8 Meganewtons - roughly equivalent to the F-1 engine used on the Saturn V first stage - at a specific impulse of 8000.
That is with uranium tetrabromide that is enriched to 20% u-235. If you push the enrichment to 90% uranium 235, that gives a specific impulse of 482,000.
Here's a scorecard for the Nuclear salt water rocket
On the plus side, look at that specific impulse. With highly enriched uranium, it can go anywhere.
On the negatives side...
It's hard to store the fuel without it exploding in the tanks.
It's a continuously exploding atomic weapon inside the engine.
The radiation from the exhaust plume kills the crew even if the rocket survives.
I'm rating it a 25 on the craziness scale, but I'm not sure that is high enough.
If you enjoyed this video, please go swim in some non-nuclear salt water