Are the fuel cells going to be replaced by a mini-nuclear plant in the future?
ANSWER from Michael Ciannilli on April 17, 1997: There are currently no plans to place a mini-nuclear power plant onboard the orbiter, this is due to several reasons. Our current system has proven to be very successful overall. Nuclear power plants require a great deal more components and handling, therefore making them difficult to process between flights. Power output from very small nuclear plants would not provide the power output we need for the shuttle and its payloads. The fuel cells we use produce drinking water for the crew as a by-product, and a nuclear plant would not. Nuclear makes crew safety a much harder issue; along with engineers and technicians on the ground, should a problem arise with the plant. Return to top.
