Russia’s Roscosmos has suspended the creation of a space tug with a nuclear engine. It is reported RIA Novosti with reference to Pongal procurement.
the Reason for the suspension is called a breakdown in the construction of the test bench designed for experimental testing of the prototype of a power plant under vacuum conditions. The creation of the stand was assigned to the Keldysh research Center in 2016.
In this regard, Roskosmos made a decision to terminate the contract. The Corporation said that the bulk of the work was completed and accepted. Testing will be continued this year in the framework of other development work.
a Transport-energy module (TEM) on the basis of a nuclear power plant (nuclear engines) is scheduled for the transportation of goods in deep space, including when the prospective establishment of bases on other planets. It was argued that the project has no analogues in the world.
the spacecraft with a nuclear power plant (nuclear engines) is designed to provide a megawatt of power in space. By comparison, the installed power of the International space station — 110 kilowatt is provided by the solar panels with a size of 17 to 70 meters. Such energy for interplanetary travel is not enough.
