Space Power Systems - Prof Simon

The Voyager satellites have both departed into deep space. How are they powered and how long will they continue to work. Prof Simon finds the answers and shares an amazing space tech film.

Thanks Documentary Channel and JPL.

Patron link - Feed the Goat

[ghostindamachine]

I love those old informational movies. Brash, optimistic and concise..

[GrimJerr]

The footage you found has that Disney documentary feel I remember from the era. 🧚‍♀️

[davidmyersretiredaerospace]

General Dynamics had been working on a nuclear fission aircraft in the late 50s.But the programme never went anywhere and was scrapped.

[johnnorth]

No goats were irradiated in the making of this film (or were they ?). Burning hydrogen in open air that had passed through a reactor core ? Gives a new meaning to containment.

[chuckaddison]

Didn't realise they had that many open air tests. Wonder just how radioactive the exhaust was?

[davidmyersretiredaerospace]

Sandia national labs also worked on a fission system in the 1960s.And yes i have some friends down there also at the facility.

[TheGreatDrAsian]

The whole ending sequence is something you can totally re-create in Kerbal Space Program!

In fact, I think I'll design that exact craft...! Nuclear rockets and all!

So cool you're doing these videos on stuff that's in the game without even meaning to!

Oh yeah and the RTG's are in it too! :D They come in real handy for when the sun is too far away for solar panels to work :P

[dannyobrian]

How long have you been making videos because your subscriptions seem to have rocketed ! Congratulations

[andrewcole]

What happened to the last Boeing and bunny clips wouldn't play in oz

[JoeBLOWFHB]

The US had a similar program for nuclear powered ramjet cruise missiles called project Pluto in the late 1950's. A nuclear powered bomber the WS-125 was also tested but ballistic missiles over took both programs.

[GrimJerr]

Thanks Professor, loading Kerbal, there goes my day 😜

[Alientraveler]

13:38 pure lightning hits a area of the project .

[TitchLDN]

like the way they use the rods to adjust, things like RF Amps RF Cavitys Algons and old Hexdowns and Dualdowns have that brillium stuff

[deadfreightwest]

That Mars rocket had an eerie resemblance to Odyssey. That, too, was nuclear-powered.

[kocovgoce]

Somewhere about 2 percent of the hydrogen had free in the space one of the ideas of these nuclear missile engines was to suck out that small percentage of hydrogen and pass it through the reactor. But a very big nozzle had to be made for that to suck the hydrogen and therefore the idea of hydrogen reservoirs was adopted.

[tastyfrzz]

My cousin John worked on building the power packs for the Pioneer probes. He had numerous ailments afterwards and died quite young. I think it used plutonium.

[stdorn]

for the first time a man from earth will set foot on another planet. It's nearly 2020 and still waiting!

[marcatteberry]

So many interesting and probable systems out there, that have been quashed and forgotten about..
Almost NEVER is it because of technology, Almost ALWAYS it is because of Politics, and Money.

[eottoe]

Stanton Friedman the UFO writer worked on this project and he said that they were very successful with it. They had long burn times relatively speaking. It would be possible to get to Mars within a month. Thanks for the video because I never knew the mechanics behind the atomic rockets.

[TheJack]

I wish I studied Science more in school. A lot of this information is way over my head.