TOPAZ Nuclear Reactor - TOPAZ-I

TOPAZ-I

The first thermionic (TI) reactors were discussed by scientists at the Los Alamos Scientific Laboratory (LASL) in 1957. Following the visit of Soviet scientists to LASL in 1958, they carried out tests on TI systems in 1961, initially developing the single cell ENISY reactor (also known as TOPAZ-II). Work was carried out by the Kurchatov Institute of Atomic Energy and the Central Bureau for Machine Building to develop the multi-cell TOPAZ (also known as TOPAZ-I), a Russian acronym for "Thermionic Experiment with Conversion in Active Zone". It was first ground tested in 1971, when its existence was acknowledged. It was under the auspices of Krasnaya Zvezda.

The first TOPAZ reactor operated for 1,300 hours and then was shut down for detailed examination. It was capable of delivering 5 kW of power for 3-5 years from 12 kg (26 lb) of fuel. Reactor mass was ~ 320 kg (710 lb).

TOPAZ was first flown in 1987 on the experimental Plazma-A satellites Cosmos 1818 and 1867, which were intended to test both the TOPAZ reactor and the Plasma-2 SPT electric engine. A follow-up Plasma-2 was to have been equipped with an improved reactor. One reactor operated for 6 months, the other for a year. The program was later abandoned on the instructions of Mikhail Gorbachev in 1988.