OREANDA-NEWS  Russian experts are preparing to conduct a test in outer space of an important element of the nuclear power propulsion system (NPS) — its cooling system, said the scientific Director of the "research center named after Keldysh" Anatoly Koroteev.

In late October, it was reported that the system was successfully tested on the ground. The work is carried out by order of Roscosmos.

"The work has been completed in full. The results meet the requirements of the technical specifications", - stated in the act of acceptance of works.

Nuclear power propulsion system, which can provide flights in space over long distances, very hot, so they need to be effectively cooled. Heat must be removed to outer space in the form of radiation. The traditional way to solve this problem are external radiators, through the pipes of which the liquid circulates. But such radiators, as usual, have a large weight and size.

Russian experts have developed a new solution - the so-called drip refrigerator-radiator. This is an installation in which the liquid is sprayed directly into space, there gives off heat, and then captured by the intake device and goes through the cycle again. The liquid cools much faster (due to the larger surface area of the droplets) and the design becomes lighter.

Russian specialists have been working since 2010 to create a transport and energy module based on megawatt-class nuclear power. The aim of the project is to ensure the leading position of the country in the development of highly efficient energy complexes for space purposes.

The technical solutions incorporated in the concept will allow to solve a wide range of tasks, including moon research programs and research missions to distant planets, the creation of automatic bases on them.

The project of creating a transport and energy module based on a megawatt-class nuclear power plant, which has no analogues in the world, has been developed since 2010.