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X-ALT-DESC;FMTTYPE=text/html:<p>###<a href="https://teams.microsoft.com/meet/223058104711455?p=EQSgdRtWSZUmFXFKCM">Pushing the Limits: Thermal and Fluid Challenges in Nuclear Space Propulsion</a></p>
 <p>####Presented by Dr. Kurt Polzin, NASA MSFC</p>
 <p>####Wednesday, October 21, 2026 @ 2:00 PM - 3:00 PM (EDT)</p>
 <hr />
 <p>Nuclear propulsion systems push thermal and fluid engineering into regimes beyond those encountered in conventional terrestrial and aerospace systems. Nuclear thermal propulsion (NTP) couples nuclear heat generation with hydrogen flow through fuel at temperatures exceeding 2700 K, creating extreme challenges in materials compatibility, heat transfer, fluid stability, transient response, and tightly coupled reactor/propellant control. Nuclear electric propulsion (NEP) presents a different but equally demanding set of challenges, including long-duration operation of high-power systems, radiation-tolerant power and propulsion hardware, high-temperature thermal rejection, and the development of lightweight radiators capable of dissipating substantial waste heat. This presentation will explore the thermal and fluid modeling and analysis challenges underlying both approaches, highlighting the multiphysics interactions, extreme operating environments, and system-level trade spaces that must be understood to enable future nuclear-powered spacecraft. The discussion will also consider where advances in modeling, experimentation, and validation are needed to bridge the gap between component-level understanding and reliable, integrated nuclear propulsion systems.</p>
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SUMMARY;LANGUAGE=en-us:Pushing the Limits: Thermal and Fluid Challenges in Nuclear Space Propulsion
DTSTART;TZID="America/New_York":20261021T180000Z
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