In this episode of the Multiplanetary Society Podcast host Timothy Reuter talks with the authors of the recently published report on options for a US space nuclear strategy sponsored by the US Department of Energy's Idaho National Laboratory. Bhavya Lal is a Former NASA Associate Administrator for Technology, Policy, and Strategy and Roger Myers is the Former Executive Director for Advanced Programs at Aerojet Rocketdyne and a current member of the National Academy of Engineering.
In this episode we discuss why, despite spending billions of dollars, the US has failed to fly any in-space fission reactors since 1965, what it would take for the US to become a leader in space nuclear, key use cases, and the impact of allowing China to take the lead in this sector.
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