SNAP-10A
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SNAP-10A was the only spacecraft powered by a nuclear reactor ever launched by NASA as part of the System for Nuclear Auxiliary Power Program (SNAP). (Other NASA spacecraft have used radioactive materials for power, however none of those was an actual nuclear reactor.) Launched by an ATLAS Agena D rocket on April 3, 1965, SNAP-10A maintained a low earth orbit for 43 days, while its nuclear electrical source, made up of thermoelectric elements, provided over 500 watts of power. An onboard voltage regulator within the spacecraft -- unrelated to the SNAP reactor itself -- failed, causing the reactor core to be ejected into high earth orbit.
- International Designator: 1965-027A
- Dry Mass: 440 kg
[edit] See also
- RORSAT, the Soviet Union nuclear reactor powered satellites.
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