SEATTLE — New batches of plutonium-238 may become available to NASA starting in 2017, perhaps preventing feared shortages of this vital spacecraft power source. The United States has not produced ...
An undated photo capturing the Plutonium Facility at Los Alamos National Laboratory, with the Rio Grande valley and the Sangre de Cristo mountains in the background. (Photo courtesy of Los Alamos ...
The United States is preparing to mine a rare nuclear resource from some of its most dangerous Cold War legacies, turning ...
Over the course of two weeks, a government pledge, that dozens of nuclear weapon cores known as pits could be made by 2030 at new and improved facilities some 1,600 miles apart, publicly crumbled.
Deep space exploration, in which spacecraft travel to the outer reaches of our solar system or beyond, requires a whole lot of power. For NASA, a valuable source of this power is a radioactive ...
Voyages into space are among the most iconic endeavors of the 20th and 21st centuries. Spacecraft that have ventured out to this “final frontier” have relayed stunning images and enlightening ...
The National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA), the organization within the Energy Department that is responsible for producing and maintaining US nuclear warheads, is moving forward with a plan ...
Most places in the solar system can't be reached without nuclear energy. NASA uses plutonium-238 forged during the Cold War to power its most ambitious missions. NASA is running low on the material, ...
Barbara Scollin, grandniece of Major Gen. Kenneth D. Nichols continues her series on his life. ***Ample reasons, most notably leadership skills, personality traits and qualifications, led to choosing ...
The Department of Energy is scheduled to decide within days where plutonium parts for the next generation of nuclear weapons are to be made, but recent internal government reports indicate serious and ...
NASA will now foot the entire bill for the United States' production of plutonium-238 spacecraft fuel, which recently started up again for the first time in a quarter-century. The space agency had ...