If NASA would have launched a rocketship that was built to use the fastest Nuclear Powered Propulsion possible in the direction of ?
Alpha Centuri in 1970 how close would this rocket ship be to Alpha Centuri today 50 years later.
- Ronald 7Lv 71 month agoFavorite Answer
I know you are talking hypothetically because although Nuclear Power was heard of in 1970
it hadn't reached propulsion in Space yet
Given the limited size of any reactor, it might have reached the Oort cloud by now
provided it was pointing in the right direction as well
- daniel gLv 71 month ago
About 1/10 the way there. we have 225,000 MPH now, a new hall ion propulsion soon to be flight tested promises 500,000 MPH.
Look at voyagers, they top out 33,000 MPH and that for gravitational slingshot,
That is what we had in the 70s.
- 1 month ago
About 0.1% of the way there.
- skeptikLv 71 month ago
If it was lucky, it might have made it as far as Pluto by now.
Hint: the fastest possible propulsion in 1970 wasn't nuclear.