Group : Space Engines
Status : Under Development
Origin : Russia
Initial Operational Capability (IOC) : 2020
Total Production : ?

The YaEDU, Nuclear Propulsion and Power Energy System in Russian, is a revolutionary space engine being developed by Russia to support long-range missions into deep space. The new engine uses a one Megawatt fusion reactor to provide power and electricity to support spaceships exploring the solar system. The arrangement consists of a small fast-neutron nuclear reactor, an electricity generator fed by the reactor’s heat and space thrusters powered by the generator. The YaEDU propulsion system is expected to work for tens of thousands of hours before the core expiration achieving higher speeds than utilizing chemical engines. The components of the YaEDU engine were tested from 2009 through 2018 with the aim to deliver a workable system to power the TEM spacecraft.