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Nuke News / Re: NASA Doesn't Have Enough Nuclear Fuel For Its Deep Space Missions
« Last post by Marlin on Today at 06:25 PM »Nothing current about the status but it would seem that ORNL is not producing enough.
US restarts production of plutonium-238 to power space missions
Though PU-238 is produced in nuclear reactors, extracting it requires a prohibitively expensive isotopic separation process, so special production lines are needed.To remedy this, ORNL is developing a new production line under a US$15 million program. The process involves taking neptunium-237 (NP-237) feedstock from the Idaho National Laboratory, converting it to neptunium oxide, then mixing it with aluminum, and pressing it into high-density pellets. These are then bombarded with radiation in ORNL's High Flux Isotope Reactor to turn the NP-237 into NP-238. This, in turn, decays quickly into PU-238.
The newly made PU-238 is then dissolved, the plutonium is separated from the left-over neptunium, oxidized, and sent to the Los Alamos National Laboratory for final processing into pellets. Meanwhile, the remaining neptunium is recycled to create more plutonium. One bonus is that the new plutonium can be mixed with the existing substandard stock to bring it up to par.
https://newatlas.com/ornl-plutonium-238-production-space/41041/
With plutonium-238 sample, ORNL restores U.S. capability dormant for nearly thirty years
http://www.homelandsecuritynewswire.com/dr20160114-with-plutonium238-sample-ornl-restores-u-s-capability-dormant-for-nearly-thirty-years
US restarts production of plutonium-238 to power space missions
Though PU-238 is produced in nuclear reactors, extracting it requires a prohibitively expensive isotopic separation process, so special production lines are needed.To remedy this, ORNL is developing a new production line under a US$15 million program. The process involves taking neptunium-237 (NP-237) feedstock from the Idaho National Laboratory, converting it to neptunium oxide, then mixing it with aluminum, and pressing it into high-density pellets. These are then bombarded with radiation in ORNL's High Flux Isotope Reactor to turn the NP-237 into NP-238. This, in turn, decays quickly into PU-238.
The newly made PU-238 is then dissolved, the plutonium is separated from the left-over neptunium, oxidized, and sent to the Los Alamos National Laboratory for final processing into pellets. Meanwhile, the remaining neptunium is recycled to create more plutonium. One bonus is that the new plutonium can be mixed with the existing substandard stock to bring it up to par.
https://newatlas.com/ornl-plutonium-238-production-space/41041/
With plutonium-238 sample, ORNL restores U.S. capability dormant for nearly thirty years
http://www.homelandsecuritynewswire.com/dr20160114-with-plutonium238-sample-ornl-restores-u-s-capability-dormant-for-nearly-thirty-years
