General Electric $2.47 Billion Military Contract

What killed the nuclear plane(s) was the shielding. The reactor could have been built light enough to fly but the shielding required to keep the crew alive was too massive.

Even without looking at the dangers of a crash, political considerations etc the idea was impractical from an engineering viewpoint.

Sounds plausible..

I'm starting to wonder if GE hasnt restared this project.. A few billion dollars and a few chemical engineers.. Yeah I can see it happening..

Originally posted by Nacnud
What killed the nuclear plane(s) was the shielding. The reactor could have been built light enough to fly but the shielding required to keep the crew alive was too massive.

Even without looking at the dangers of a crash, political considerations etc the idea was impractical from an engineering viewpoint.

Dangers of crashes and political considerations aside, I wonder if they could make one for a UAV and then forget about shielding to protect humans. Something perhaps like a Global hawk but having a much longer ability to stay over a area then any convential spy plane.

Ok, So we know Nuclear engines are a reality. What's to say that some type of shielding, chemical or otherwise hasn't been figured out and has been put to use.
Question: Is it possible GE has figured out how to develop a nuclear engine for a manned aircraft?