Space Nuclear Safety, the first, and presently, the only book written on the topic of space nuclear safety, is a comprehensive textbook intended for
professors and students. The principal authors and contributors are recognized leaders in their field of expertise. The book is also a convenient reference book for nuclear engineers, aerospace safety specialists, project managers, and government staff. Although Space Nuclear Safety is oriented toward nuclear engineers and aerospace safety professionals, the material should be accessible to engineers, scientists, graduate students and upper division undergraduate students without nuclear
engineering or aerospace backgrounds.
Space Nuclear Safety covers both radioisotope power sources and space reactor systems. The chapters address safety principles and safety analysis methods and include discussions of safety issues and scenarios, protection and mitigation methods, and safety testing. Topics include radiation protection and shielding, propellant fires and explosions, orbital mechanics, atmospheric reentry, impact and analysis, reactor criticality safety, reactor
transient analysis, risk/reliability analysis, and consequence analysis. Student exercises are provided that can be solved using a handheld calculator. Although the book focuses on relatively simple safety analysis methods, each chapter provides a brief discussion of computer analysis methods used in space nuclear safety programs. |
