The U.S. military likes nuclear power -- and I mean, it really likes nuclear power.

Powered by highly enriched uranium nuclear reactors, U.S. Navy submarines and aircraft carriers can operate for as long as 30 years before needing to add fuel. This frees them from the need to have oil tankers tag along on missions for periodic refueling. It allows the submarines to operate underwater without the need to come up for air for the combustion of hydrocarbons. For that matter, not needing to burn hydrocarbons helps the military burnish its environmental credentials as a user of green energy.

Given all these advantages, therefore, it should perhaps come as no surprise that the Pentagon would also like to put nuclear power in its spaceships. The big surprise is that 65 years after America launched its first satellite, we're finally making progress toward building nuclear-powered spaceships.

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Source Fool.com