• Journal of the Korean Society of Propulsion Engineers
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• v.26 no.6
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• pp.86-100
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• 2022

In this paper, the concept and characteristics of the nuclear propulsion system were introduced and the state of the art for the nuclear-powered space propulsion in abroad were summarized. Since uranium used in nuclear propulsion has a very high energy density per unit mass, it has exceptional specific impulse performance compared to the existing chemical propulsion method and can reduce the amount of fuel loaded, thereby having advantage for long-distance exploration. For this reason, advanced countries in space development are recently spurring to the research of nuclear propulsion technology, and it is judged that the development of a propulsion engine using nuclear power is absolutely necessary in order to gain an competitive edge on the space development.