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For those interested:

As absurd as it sounds nuclear powered aircraft engines are a thing.[1] They have also been proposed for spacecraft, Scott Manley does a great video talking about nuclear rocket engines[2].

[1]https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Project_Pluto

[2]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cvZjhWE-3zM

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⬐ vimacs2

I flirted with the idea of using supersized nuclear powered aircraft as the terrestrial version of the Aldrin cycler[1] concept. Basically, these things would be designed to never land but instead run in circular paths between continents with a fleet of onboard craft and hangers that will exchange cargo and passengers instead. They will be designed from the ground up to be maintanable and refuelable under constant operation (not a particularly difficult goal for a nuclear powered craft).

Safety is a very valid concern for any supersized airborne vehicle but especially a nuclear powered one! However, this is one department where scale in itself brings it's own benefits. The volume increases faster than the surface area so you could have a hull far thicker than that of many naval ships while still having a truly vast interior volume. Not needing to ever land also reduces avenues for sabatoge and presumably the craft's interior itself would be heavily compartmentalized. You can also optimise your hull to deal with a narrow air pressure range which you cannot do with normal craft which need to be able to handle a wide range from ground level to the stratospheric.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mars_cycler