NASA Logo

NTRS

NTRS - NASA Technical Reports Server

Back to Results
Soviet space nuclear reactor incidents - Perception versus realitySince the Soviet Union reportedly began flying nuclear power sources in 1965 it has had four publicly known accidents involving space reactors, two publicly known accidents involving radioisotope power sources and one close call with a space reactor (Cosmos 1900). The reactor accidents, particularly Cosmos 954 and Cosmos 1402, indicated that the Soviets had adopted burnup as their reentry philosophy which is consistent with the U.S. philosophy from the 1960s and 1970s. While quantitative risk analyses have shown that the Soviet accidents have not posed a serious risk to the world's population, concerns still remain about Soviet space nuclear safety practices.
Document ID
19930036780
Acquisition Source
Legacy CDMS
Document Type
Conference Paper
Authors
Bennett, Gary L.
(NASA Propulsion Power and Energy Div., Washington, United States)
Date Acquired
August 15, 2013
Publication Date
January 1, 1992
Publication Information
Publication: In: Space nuclear power systems 1989; Proceedings of the 6th Symposium, Albuquerque, NM, Jan. 8-12, 1989. Vol. 1 (A93-20752 06-20)
Publisher: Orbit Book Co., Inc.
Subject Category
Spacecraft Propulsion And Power
Accession Number
93A20777
Distribution Limits
Public
Copyright
Other

Available Downloads

There are no available downloads for this record.
No Preview Available