| NASA Center: |
Headquarters |
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| Image # : |
NPO-70-15803 |
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| Date : |
01/29/1970
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Title
Drawing of a NERVA Engine
Full Description
An explanatory drawing of the NERVA (Nuclear Engine for Rocket
Vehicle Application)thermodynamic nuclear rocket engine.
The main objective of project Rover/NERVA was to develop a flight
rated engine with 75,000 pounds of thrust. The Rover portion of
the program began in 1955 when the U.S. Atomic Energy
Commission's Los Alamos Scientific Laboratory and the Air Force
initially wanted the engine for missile applications. However, in
1958, the newly created NASA inherited the Air Force
responsibilities, with an engine slated for use in advanced,
long-term space missions. The NERVA portion did not originate
until 1960 and the industrial team of Aerojet General Corporation
and Westinghouse Electric had the responsibility to develop it.
In 1960, NASA and the AEC created the Space Nuclear Propulsion
Office to manage project Rover/NERVA. In the following decade, it
oversaw a series of reactor tests: KIWI-A, KIWI-B, Phoebus,
Pewee, and the Nuclear Furnace, all conducted by Los Alamos to
prove concepts and test advanced ideas. Aerojet and Westinghouse
tested their own series: NRX-A2 (NERVA Reactor Experiment), A3,
EST (Engine System Test), A5, A6, and XE-Prime (Experimental
Engine). All were tested at the Nuclear Rocket Development
Station at the AEC's Nevada Test Site, in Jackass Flats, Nevada,
about 100 miles west of Las Vegas.
In the late 1960's and early 1970's, the Nixon Administration
cut NASA and NERVA funding dramatically. The cutbacks were
made in response to a lack of public interest in human
spaceflight, the end of the space race after the Apollo Moon
landing, and the growing use of low-cost unmanned, robotic
space probes. Eventually NERVA lost its funding, and the
project ended in 1973.
Keywords
NERVA Nuclear Rocket Engine Rover
Subject Category
Rocket Propulsion
Reference Numbers
- Center:
HQ
- Center Number:
NPO-70-15803
- GRIN DataBase Number:
GPN-2002-000144
Source Information
- Creator/Photographer: NASA
- Original Source: DIGITAL
| Resolution | Format | Width
(Pixels) | Height
(Pixels) | Size
(KBytes) |
Thumbnail |
JPEG |
84 |
40 |
6 |
Small |
JPEG |
599 |
282 |
111 |
Medium |
JPEG |
1403 |
660 |
548 |
Large |
JPEG |
2806 |
1321 |
2,784 |
Publication Information
Information on Project Rover/NERVA provided by James Dewar.
Other relevant NASA Web sites:
• NASA Headquarters
• NASA History Office
• NASA Image eXchange (NIX)
• NASA Multimedia Gallery
• NASA Human Spaceflight
Updated October 31, 2002
• History Questions: NASA History Office
• Responsible NASA Official: Steve Garber
• Author: Michael Hahn. Editor: Dwayne A. Day
• Curator & Technical Questions: Erin Needham
• NASA's Privacy Statement
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