Space Propulsion: Open-System Nuclear Propulsion | STEM History and Concepts | Audiobook

Описание: What happens when the “exhaust” is powered by fission, fusion, or even repeated nuclear pulses? In this cinematic, layman-friendly chapter of our Space Propulsion series, we trace the real history, the real engineering tradeoffs, and the real reasons these ideas keep returning—then disappearing—across decades of spaceflight planning.

You’ll hear about:
• Nuclear thermal rockets that heat propellant with a reactor
• Pulse propulsion concepts that ride controlled explosions
• Gas-core “mini-suns,” fission fragments, fission sails, and nuclear salt water rockets
• Antimatter-catalyzed pulse ideas and fusion microburst starships
• Why testing, treaties, cost, and public risk shape what can actually fly
• How science fiction borrows these engines—and what it gets right

📜 Chapters:
Chapter 0: A propulsion primer for nuclear stories
Chapter 1: The first atomic rocket dreams
Chapter 2: Project Rover and solid-core nuclear thermal rockets
Chapter 3: NERVA and the problem of turning tests into missions
Chapter 4: Project Pluto and the cautionary tale of nuclear airbreathing
Chapter 5: Orion and the pusher plate
Chapter 6: Invisible plates and tiny suns
Chapter 7: Timber Wind and the particle-bed gamble
Chapter 8: Gas-core nuclear rockets and the nuclear light bulb
Chapter 9: Prometheus and the long, quiet thrust
Chapter 10: Kilopower and the practical side of fission power in space
Chapter 11: Fission fragments and the exhaust that is the reaction itself
Chapter 12: The fission sail, a shadow engine for fusion ships
Chapter 13: The nuclear salt water rocket
Chapter 14: Pulsed hearts and bimodal ships
Chapter 15: Antimatter sparks and the pulse engine dream
Chapter 16: Fusion rockets for the outer system, from VISTA to Project Longshot
Chapter 17: Daedalus and the culture of paper starships
Chapter 18: The ship that ate the interstellar wind (Bussard ramjet)
Chapter 19: DRACO and the new politics of testing
Chapter 20: When the fire refused to stay in its box (failures)
Chapter 21: The engines that live in the margin of the notebook (hypotheticals)
Chapter 22: Open-system nuclear propulsion in science fiction

🌐Transcript, Aliases, and References:
https://drive.proton.me/urls/CNT1M706...

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⚠️ Disclaimer:
What you are about to hear is a work of educational storytelling about a real field of engineering: open system nuclear propulsion. “Open system” means the vehicle throws something away on purpose. Propellant, plasma, charged particles, sometimes even the products of nuclear reactions themselves. The exhaust is not just a byproduct; it is the method.

Because this subject touches nuclear technology, it sits inside layers of law, safety practice, and public responsibility. Some historical concepts you will hear about were proposed before modern treaties and launch authorization rules, and some were proposed in direct defiance of what the world later decided it would not tolerate. This audiobook does not advocate weapons, and it does not provide instructions, designs, or procedures for building, acquiring, modifying, or operating nuclear devices or nuclear propulsion hardware. It explains what was attempted, what was studied, what was tested, and why so much of it remained on paper.

Think of this series as a guided walk through a museum where many exhibits are full scale engines, and many others are blueprints pinned to a board. We will stay high level. We will keep the focus on physics you can picture, decisions you can understand, and the real programs that proved what was possible, what was expensive, and what was too dangerous to accept.