LOS ALAMOS, N.M. - Space Nuclear Power Corporation, also known as SpaceNukes, has been named the industrial partner for developing an advanced fission reactor for nuclear electric spacecraft. Chris Young writes for Interesting Engineering. Continue reading original article.
The Military & Aerospace Electronics take:
22 May 2025 - The SpaceNukes team designed, built, and ground-tested the 1 kW Kilopower reactor for NASA in 2018. They are working with the Space Force on a 12 kW Kilopower design and are working toward a flight demonstration. In parallel with JETSON, the SpaceNukes are working to commercialize nuclear energy for power, heat, and electric propulsion to serve the needs of the new space economy.
"Nuclear Electric Propulsion will achieve game-changing performance via stepwise technology evolution. Our plan will begin with a 100 kW plus NEP system as a steppingstone to a less than 5 kg per kW multi-megawatt NEP system with the capability to reduce the round-trip human transit time to Mars from more than a year to a few months," said Dr. David Poston, CTO of SpaceNukes.
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Military + Aerospace Electronics
