Quote:
Originally Posted by Jason
I figured it was too late for the timeline, but more feasible than an atomic airship.
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Why? Compact reactors have been in use in ships and especially subs for decades before 2000. What's the issue with adapting that technology for use in a very large heavy lift aircraft?
Yes, there is the issue of carrying water for the turbine, but condensation/reclamation systems should help there, and topping up the tank every few days shouldn't be much of a problem either.
So why aren't there already nuclear powered aircraft? Fear mostly, and the weight of the shielding. In an airship weight shouldn't be
too much of a factor, and the fear issue was covered in the module.
Edit: found reactor research from 1965 which did away with water and just used air to run the turbine. They'd gotten the weight down to 250 tonnes at that point. Another 30+ years of development and I'd expect they'd just about halve that weight using new materials and technologies.