TEM (russian: Транспортно-энергетический модуль, "transport and energy module\unit", NPPS in English) is an under development nuclear propulsion spacecraft with the intention to facilitate the transportation of large cargoes in deep space. It will be constructed by the Russian

Keldysh Research Center The State Scientific Centre Keldysh Research Center (russian: Центр Келдыша) is a research institute in Moscow, Russia. It is based at 8 Onezhskaya Street (:ru:Онежская улица (Москва), street article in Russian W ...

, NIKIET (Research and Design Institute of Power Engineering) institute, and Rosatom.

Mission

A Russian project to create an uncrewed nuclear electric rocket spaceship for Solar system exploration. The first reactor tests are scheduled for the early 2020s; as of May 2020, the first orbital flight test of the reactor is planned for no earlier than 2030. The first mission, named ''Zeus'', is envisioned to operate for 50 months and deliver payloads to the Moon, Venus, and Jupiter through multiple gravity assists.

Specifications

Reactor

* Coolant: 78% helium/22% xenon. * Heat power: 3.8 MW * Electric power: 1 MW

Spacecraft

* Mass: 20,290 kg (limited by Angara 5 carrying capacity) * Thrust: 18 N * Specific impulse: 7000 s * Space-launch vehicle:

Angara The Angara ( Buryat and mn, Ангар, ''Angar'', "Cleft"; russian: Ангара́, ''Angará'') is a major river in Siberia, which traces a course through Russia's Irkutsk Oblast and Krasnoyarsk Krai. It drains out of Lake Baikal and is ...

Project history

* 2009 – Project started. * March 2016 – First batch of nuclear fuel received * October 2018 – Successful initial tests of the water droplet radiator system * May 2021 – ''Zeus'' mission proposed by Roscosmos and the Russian Academy of Sciences

References

External links

Article on NIKIET site (Russian)
{{Nuclear propulsion Nuclear spacecraft propulsion Roscosmos 2030 in science