Nuclear Propulsion And Other Conventional Forms Of Space Travel

Our current means for space travel are rapidly approaching their peak, and even when our chemically powered engines reach their maximum efficiency, interplanetary travel and possible colonization in outer space would be a far fetched idea. There are many forms of interplanetary travel that are being proposed, each with great potential. Currently, nuclear propulsion is being discussed as the next conventional form of space travel.
NASA has already announced that they will spend $1 billion dollars over the next five years for the advancement of nuclear propulsion technology (Shaw: 1). Methods of interstellar travel will keep improving as technology advances; nuclear propulsion is a result of these advances and seems to be the next feasible idea in space travel.
There are two basic types of nuclear reactions that could be used to power space travel, fission and fusion. Fission involves the splitting of large nuclei and fusion involves the fusion of molecules. Both of these processe...