The Nuclear Engine for Rocket Vehicle Application (NERVA) was a rocket
engine development program intended to establish a technology base for
nuclear thermal rocket systems for space missions, as this promised to
be more efficient than chemical rockets. NERVA was a joint effort of the
Atomic Energy Commission and NASA, and was managed by the Space Nuclear
Propulsion Office (SNPO). NERVA was considered a successful program in
that it met or exceeded its program goals and demonstrated that nuclear
thermal rocket engines were a feasible and reliable tool for space
exploration. At the end of 1968 the SNPO deemed that the latest NERVA
engine, the XE (pictured), met the requirements for a human mission to
Mars. It had strong political support but was canceled by President
Richard Nixon in 1973. Although NERVA engines were built and tested
largely with flight-certified components and were deemed ready for
integration into spacecraft, they never flew in space.
Read more: <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/NERVA>
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Today's selected anniversaries:
1066:
William the Conqueror and his fleet of around 600 ships landed
at Pevensey, Sussex, beginning the Norman conquest of England.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Norman_Conquest>
1901:
Philippine–American War: Filipino guerrillas killed more than
forty American soldiers in a surprise attack on the town of Balangiga on
the island of Samar.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Balangiga_massacre>
1928:
Scottish biologist and pharmacologist Alexander Fleming
discovered penicillin when he noticed a bacteria-killing mould growing
in his laboratory.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alexander_Fleming>
1975:
An attempted robbery of Spaghetti House, a restaurant in
Knightsbridge, London, turned into a six-day hostage situation.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spaghetti_House_siege>
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Wiktionary's word of the day:
linkrot:
(Internet) The steady increase in the number of broken hyperlinks as
webpages are moved or removed.
<https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/linkrot>
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Wikiquote quote of the day:
It is said in the Book of Poetry, "In silence is the offering
presented, and the spirit approached to; there is not the slightest
contention." Therefore the superior man does not use rewards, and the
people are stimulated to virtue. He does not show anger, and the people
are awed more than by hatchets and battle-axes.
--Confucius
<https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Confucius>
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