Недавно нашел в сети:
http://techreports.larc.nasa.gov/cgi-bin/NTRS
если сделать поиск: nuclear AND drive, можно узнать много интересного.
Вот например одна цитата:
TITLE: The PEGASUS drive: A nuclear electric propulsion system for the space
exploration initiative//----------------------------------------------------------------
Authors:
Coomes, Edmund P. (Pacific Northwest Lab.) Dagle, Jeffery E. (Pacific Northwest Lab.)//-----------------------------------------------
Published: Oct 01, 1990//---------------------------------------------------------------------
Corporate Source:
Pacific Northwest Lab. (Richland, WA, United States)//---------------------------------------------------
Abstract:
The advantages of using electric propulsion for propulsion are well-known in the aerospace community. The high specific impulse,
lower propellant requirements, and lower system mass make it a very attractive propulsion option for the Space Exploration Initiative
(SEI), especially for the transport of cargo. One such propulsion system is the PEGASUS Drive (Coomes et al., 1987). In its original
configuration, the PEGASUS Drive consisted of a 10-MWe power source coupled to a 6-MW magnetoplasmadynamic (MPD) thruster
system. The PEGASUS Drive propelled a manned vehicle to Mars and back in 601 days. By removing the crew and their associated
support systems from the spacecraft and by incorporating technology advances in reactor design and heat rejection systems, a second
generation PEGASUS Drive can be developed with an alpha less than two. Utilizing this propulsion system, a 400-MT cargo vehicle,
assembled and loaded in low Earth orbit (LEO), could deliver 262 MT of supplies and hardware to Mars 282 days after escaping Earth
orbit. Upon arrival at Mars the transport vehicle would place its cargo in the desired parking orbit around Mars and then proceed to
synchronous orbit above the desired landing site. Using a laser transmitter, PEGASUS would provide 2-MWe on the surface to operate
automated systems deployed earlier and then provide surface power to support crew activities after their arrival. The additional
supplies and hardware, coupled with the availability of megawatt levels of electric power on the Mars surface, would greatly enhance
and even expand the mission options being considered under SEI.-----------------------------
С уважением.