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The US military is getting serious about nuclear thermal propulsion:
[...] the US Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency announced its intent to have a flyable nuclear thermal propulsion system ready for a demonstration in 2025.
Through this Demonstration Rocket for Agile Cislunar Operations, or DRACO program, the defense agency seeks technology that will allow for more responsive control of spacecraft in Earth orbit, lunar orbit, and everywhere in between, giving the military greater operational freedom in these domains.
"Activity in cislunar space is expected to increase considerably in the coming years," Tabatha Thompson, a DARPA spokeswoman, told Ars. "An agile nuclear thermal propulsion vehicle enables the DOD to maintain Space Domain Awareness of the burgeoning activity within this vast volume."
In "Phase 1" of its solicitation, DARPA has asked industry for the designs of both a nuclear thermal reactor and an operational spacecraft upon which to demonstrate it. This initial phase of the program is to last 18 months. Subsequent phases will lead to detailed design, fabrication, ground tests, and an in-space demonstration. No contracts have yet been awarded, and award values will be determined by industry submissions.
The propulsion system is thought to make travel around the Solar System quicker.
(Score: 3, Insightful) by Immerman on Wednesday June 17 2020, @04:16PM
If you're counting individual atoms, and are still using numbers with names, even big ones like trillions, then yeah, it's probably not a problem unless you're dealing with something *extremely* nasty. Trillions of atoms is nothing - there's billions of trillions of atoms in a single grain of sand.
Concentrated deutrium though *is* dangerous - a few tastes probably won't hurt you, but drink a glass of heavy water and you're risking severe health problems. And tritium is dramatically more dangerous.