Analysing the safety of the flight operation of a promising nuclear-powered aircraft

This article analyzes the safety of flight operations for a promising aircraft with a nuclear propulsion system. The initial experimental models of atomic-powered aircraft underwent operational testing during the first half of the twentieth century but were subsequently deemed unsuitable due to the heightened radiation and nuclear risks to humans and the environment. In light of the growing urgency surrounding the use of alternative fuels for engines, including those used in aircraft, it would be prudent to consider the resumption of the project to develop aircraft with a new-generation nuclear propulsion system utilizing low- enriched fuel. The results are characterized by the following features and distinctive features that allow the problem under study to be solved: - The occurrence of the initiating factors of an accident at a 6 MW nuclear power reactor with low-enriched nuclear fuel will not entail an aviation accident or incident involving increased human exposure and environmental radiation contamination. - An aviation accident accompanied by a nuclear and radiation accident with destruction of the reactor core is possible only if an aircraft crashes into a nuclear propulsion system, the probability of which does not exceed the risk of a similar event involving aircraft using conventional aviation fuel. The results of nuclear propulsion system safety analyses would also be in demand in energy, research and development, and other areas where nuclear reactors are used.