I'm as pro-nuke as you get around here. But fission reactors have thermal issues that being in space complicates immensely. According to Chang-Diaz's own studies to get the needed specific power for a high-speed VASIMR the system needed a Gas-Core reactor using MHD for power conversion. That's a bit exotic for a near-term system.
Personally I like the elegance of SEP systems and the fact they provide power in the long-term without having to chase fissionables. Assuming space-hardened PVs of course. Concentrator arrays minimise the needed PV materials and a cluster of smaller collectors could be broken up to power operations on Phobos and Deimos or a fleet of probes to survey the asteroids.
Nukes have big advantages on Mars, but that's a whole different application. A near-surface glacier is a more tractable heat-sink than a huge radiator array in space.
Space/Science » in reply to Anything but nuclear I see.
Don't be an idiot
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