There is disclosed a multicopter vertical takeoff and landing (VTOL) aircraft. The aircraft comprises am airframe with spatial design, a pilot seat, a cockpit, controls, engine units, engine compartment, control system, remote control system. The airframe consists of a central section and, at least, two peripheral sections, wherein peripheral sections can be folded up or down, or be retracted under the central section. The central section and peripheral sections of the airframe have spatial design. Each of the peripheral sections comprises at least three standard engine compartments which are connected to each other. Inside each engine compartment there is an engine unit which comprises at least one engine and at least one horizontally rotating propeller together with the control hardware. Each engine unit is an autonomous member of the distributed control system (DCS).

There is disclosed a multicopter vertical takeoff and landing (VTOL) aircraft. The aircraft comprises am airframe with spatial design, a pilot seat, a cockpit, controls, engine units, engine compartment, control system, remote control system. The airframe consists of a central section and, at least, two peripheral sections, wherein peripheral sections can be folded up or down, or be retracted under the central section. The central section and peripheral sections of the airframe have spatial design. Each of the peripheral sections comprises at least three standard engine compartments which are connected to each other. Inside each engine compartment there is an engine unit which comprises at least one engine and at least one horizontally rotating propeller together with the control hardware. Each engine unit is an autonomous member of the distributed control system (DCS).

Methods and systems for propelling an air vehicle with a molten salt reactor, a first heat exchanger, and a second heat exchanger are disclosed. A hot liquid molten salt from the molten salt reactor heats a fluid in the first heat exchanger to produce a hot fluid. The hot fluid heats air in the second heat exchanger to produce heated air which passes through a nozzle to propel the air vehicle.

Methods and systems for propelling an air vehicle with a molten salt reactor, a first heat exchanger, and a second heat exchanger are disclosed. A hot liquid molten salt from the molten salt reactor heats a fluid in the first heat exchanger to produce a hot fluid. The hot fluid heats air in the second heat exchanger to produce heated air which passes through a nozzle to propel the air vehicle.

The invention relates to aviation, and more particularly to designs for vertical take-off and landing aircraft. The present vertical take-off and landing aircraft comprises jet propulsion units containing compressors, overflow valves, air tanks, and a nuclear power plant. Turbines are provided with hybrid engines capable of running on electricity or liquid fuel. On the outside of the aircraft, each turbine is provided with a corrugated tip, consisting of two parts: a base and an extendable part. The bases of the tips are pivotally mounted on the turbine for rotation about their own axis and are coupled to a lateral orientation system for altering the pumping direction. The other part of the corrugated tip is coupled to an angle adjusting system, which, optionally, extends one side of the corrugated part outside the body in order to alter the pumping angle by more than 90 degrees from vertical to horizontal.

A nuclear reactor system includes a nuclear reactor core disposed in a pressure vessel. Nuclear reactor system further includes control drums disposed longitudinally within the pressure vessel and laterally surrounding fuel elements and at least one moderator element of the nuclear reactor core to control reactivity. Each of the control drums includes a reflector material and an absorber material. Nuclear reactor system further includes an automatic shutdown controller and an electrical drive mechanism coupled to rotatably control the control drum. Automatic shutdown controller includes a counterweight to impart a bias and an actuator. To automatically shut down the nuclear reactor core during a loss or interruption of electrical power from a power source to the electrical drive mechanism, the actuator is coupled to the counterweight and responsive to the bias to align the absorber material of one or more control drums to face inwards towards the nuclear reactor core.

An enhanced architecture for a nuclear reactor core includes: (1) nuclear fuel tiles (S-Block); and (2) a thermal insulator and tube liners with a solid-phase moderator (U-Mod) to improve safety, reliability, heat transfer, efficiency, and compactness. In S-Block, nuclear fuel tiles include a fuel shape designed with an interlocking geometry pattern to optimize heat transfer between nuclear fuel tiles and into a fuel coolant and bring the fuel coolant in direct contact with the nuclear fuel tiles. Nuclear fuel tiles can be shaped with discontinuous nuclear fuel lateral facets and have fuel coolant passages formed therein to provide direct contact between the fuel coolant and the nuclear fuel tiles. In U-Mod, tube liners with hydrogen diffusivity retain hydrogen in the solid-phase moderator even at elevated temperatures and the thermal insulator insulates the solid-phase moderator from the nuclear fuel tiles.

An enhanced architecture for a nuclear reactor core includes several technologies: (1) nuclear fuel tiles (S-Block); and (2) a high-temperature thermal insulator and tube liners with a low-temperature solid-phase moderator (U-Mod) to improve safety, reliability, heat transfer, efficiency, and compactness. In S-Block, nuclear fuel tiles include a fuel shape designed with an interlocking geometry pattern to optimize heat transfer between nuclear fuel tiles and into a fuel coolant and bring the fuel coolant in direct contact with the nuclear fuel tiles. Nuclear fuel tiles can be shaped with discontinuous nuclear fuel lateral facets and have fuel coolant passages formed therein to provide direct contact between the fuel coolant and the nuclear fuel tiles. In U-Mod, tube liners with low hydrogen diffusivity retain hydrogen in the low-temperature solid-phase moderator even at elevated temperatures and the high-temperature thermal insulator insulates the solid-phase moderator from the nuclear fuel tiles.