NERVA NUCLEAR ROCKET PROPULSION SYSTEM MODEL, WITH THE NASA PAMPHLETS

Vintage model, 10 ¾ inches high, painted metal and composite on wooden base with brass plate engraved "NERVA"; chipping to paint, minor cracks, minor soiling. [With]: 3 pamphlets (from 5 1/2 by 8 1/2 inches to 7 ⅞ by 10 ¼ inches): Propulsion for Deep Space. Cleveland: National Aeronautic and Space Administration, June 1966. Nuclear Propulsion for Space. U.S. Oak Ridge, Tennessee: Atomic Energy Commission, May 1967. Nuclear Reactors for Space Power. Oak Ridge, Tennessee: Atomic Energy Commission, May 1971. Each with pictorially printed wrappers; minor toning and wear to extremities.

The Nuclear Engine for Rocket Vehicle Application—or NERVA, is it came to be known— was a U.S. nuclear thermal rocket engine development program that ran for two decades. The project was a joint effort between the U.S. Atomic Energy Commission and NASA, and managed by the Space Nuclear Propulsion Office.