Atomic Rockets: A Favorite in Fiction. Now a Reality?

Today’s post is about the exciting announcement on January 24, 2023, that NASA and DARPA (Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency) will collaborate on developing a Nuclear Thermal Rocket. At last, somebody’s going to build an atomic rocket and fly it in space. (DARPA, NASA Collaborate on Nuclear Thermal Rocket Engine)

[Image Credit: DARPA-NASA]

Atomic rockets have been the stuff of Science Fiction for almost a hundred years. The 1933 novel, When Worlds Collide has the human race building an atomic rocket to escape Earth ahead of a planetary collision. Conveniently for the engineers, major earthquakes caused by the approaching planets cough up the material they need to build the rocket motor, and off they go to their new home. I recommend the book (and its sequel, After Worlds Collide) and the 1951 film (2-minute video).

[Image Credit: Wikipedia]

Later in my reading history, I remember the hyperatomic motors of Isaac Asimov’s Foundation Series. He never really explained how they worked, but they sounded fantastic. And besides, it seemed everything the Foundation made was atomic-powered.

Flash forward again to Star Trek: The Next Generation. According to my copy of the NCC1701-D Technical Manual, the impulse propulsion system (IPS) is fusion powered. Not what you think of as a rocket, but atomic powered, nonetheless.

[Image Credit: wiki.fed-space]

Fusion power presents us with other opportunities. Speculating that small, compact fusion reactors, chained together, might produce enough energy, we can think about practical ion drives. In 2021, I posted a speculative article on using electric engines to get to Mars: Electric Rockets to Mars – Roundtrip in a Flash. And in my first novel, Lunar Gravity (currently in final edits), the interplanetary transport ship, Schiaparelli (named for Giovanni Schiaparelli, the 19^th Century Italian astronomer), is powered by an ion/plasma drive using fusion-generated power.

A dramatic scene in Passengers (3-minute video) brings fusion drive front and center. On an unrelated note, the shield generator on the Avalon is the coolest I’ve seen. That long thin needle with the shield energy sprouting from its tip is unique. Kudos to the designer.

[Image Credit: Passengers-movie]

One last use of atomic power that comes to mind is from the 1985 novel by Larry Niven and Jerry Pournelle, Footfall. A powerful alien force has invaded the Earth. We build a massive space battle cruiser in the Pacific Northwest to fight back. The behemoth is launched using atomic bombs detonated beneath the ship’s blast shield. Of course, not great for the Seattle area, but it does get the ship into space, and the people of Earth win the day. Not exactly a rocket, but it worked.

[Image Credit: Wikipedia]

The above is just a sampling of the Science Fiction ships that have used atomic power. Who knows, the first people from Earth to visit Mars might just travel there on an Atomic Rocket.

Feel free to comment, and let me know if you have some favorites.

Thanks for stopping by.

[Disclaimer: Please accept my apologies for any ads that pop up before the linked videos. They do not reflect my position, nor do I endorse any of the products—it’s just a YouTube thing I can’t get around.]