Nuclear thermal propulsion systems have roughly twice the specific impulse of chemical rockets, which means they could cut the travel time by a factor of 2. But these pre-1973 designs relied on ...

There are some potentially valid criticism about the Nuclear Salt Water Rocket (NSWR). The criticisms highlight real physical ...

Beamed Power Propulsion (e.g., Laser Thermal Rocket) Description: An external power source ... yielding >2 m/s² for large ships). Beamed Ion: High specific impulse (5,000–10,000 s, or 50–100 km/s ...

When it comes to crossing these great distances, conventional chemical rocket technology simply ... such a propulsion system could run at a specific impulse of around 3000 seconds.