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Nuclear-Powered Airliner Can Carry 600 Passengers at Mach 6, But Only in Sim

Access to nuclear power has transformed the world we live in and, even if it hasn’t helped rid us from the habit of burning stuff to get energy, it did slow down the harm we humans are causing our planet. In some extreme instances, nuclear power is what keeps machines operating for long stretches of time without the need to refuel.
Mach 6 nuclear-powered aircraft 8 photos
Photo: Hazegrayart
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At the time of writing, only submarines and large surface military vessels draw their power from nuclear reactors – that’s because only they need to be away from supply lines for long stretches of time.

According to the World Nuclear Association, there are now some 160 ships being powered by a total of 200 small nuclear reactors. The first nuclear submarine came to be in 1955, as the USS Nautilus, while surface vessels were led into the nuclear age by the USS Enterprise aircraft carrier in 1960.

Because they don’t need such power for too long, other types of vehicles had to make do without reactors. Sure, we’ve had attempts at making nuclear-powered cars (who can forget Ford’s Nucleon concept from the 1950s), and even aircraft, under the U.S. Air Force’s Nuclear Energy for the Propulsion of Aircraft (NEPA) project.

None of them became reality, of course, and that makes it incredibly difficult to assess their merits and downsides. But that isn’t stopping some people from imagining how some such machines might have looked like or will look like if anyone dares make them in the future.

The latest example comes from space animation specialist Hazegrayart, which at the end of last week published a short animation showing what we’re told is a Mach 6 capable, nuclear-powered aircraft designed to carry some 600 passengers. That's significantly less than the over 800 seat capacity of the world’s largest current airliner, the A380, but well above what most of the others are capable of carrying.

We’re not provided with any info on what kind of reactor this thing might use or its performances, but just seeing its strange, pointy shape as it cruises down some runway, and then shooting through the air, gives us a glimpse at the future the people from the 1950s imagined, but never came to pass.

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About the author: Daniel Patrascu
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Daniel loves writing (or so he claims), and he uses this skill to offer readers a "behind the scenes" look at the automotive industry. He also enjoys talking about space exploration and robots, because in his view the only way forward for humanity is away from this planet, in metal bodies.
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