The Liquid Fluoride Thorium Reactors (LFTR) are  purportedly safer (no harmful radioactive wastes produced), less expensive, smaller in size, does not use weapons-grade radioactive fuels and run on thorium-232, which is apparently an abundant heavy metal. The nuclear reactions in an LFTR can be started and stopped easily. The fuel does not have to be refined or enriched or made into pellet shapes. The reaction products are supposedly less harmful and have short half-lives.

Thus, I feel that the above qualities make LFTRs a potential fit for nuclear propulsion applications. LFTRs can be made smaller to fit an air/space vehicle. The controllability of the reactions gives us the ability to throttle power output on a vehicle. The reactors can be designed to withstand explosions. At present, aircraft black boxes are made tough and rugged, and designed to withstand crashes and submersion in water. So is the case with nuclear warheads…