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The shipment earlier this year of heat source plutonium-238 from the US Department of Energy’s (DOE’s) Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL) to its Los Alamos National Laboratory (LANL) represents a critical step toward fuelling planned space missions with radioisotope power systems, NASA had said.

Date: Thursday, 30 November 2023
Original article: neimagazine.com/news/newsnasa-moves-closer-to-use-of-plutonium-238-to-power-space-missions-11335593

US-based Ultra Safe Nuclear Corporation (USNC) has won a contract from NASA to develop and mature Nuclear Thermal Propulsion (NTP) systems to advance US civil science and cislunar capabilities. The contract, is intended to move NTP from design to equipment manufacture.

Date: Thursday, 26 October 2023
Original article: neimagazine.com/news/newsusnc-wins-nasa-nuclear-propulsion-contract-11242887

US-based BWX Technologies (BWXT) has been contracted to develop the reactor and fuel for the US Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency’s (DARPA’s) Demonstration Rocket for Agile Cislunar Operations (DRACO), which will use nuclear thermal propulsion. As part of a team led by Lockheed Martin, BWXT Advanced Technologies is to complete final design of the nuclear reactor, manufacture the reactor’s hardware and fuel, assemble the components and deliver the fuelled reactor as a complete subsystem.

Date: Wednesday, 16 August 2023
Original article: neimagazine.com/news/newsbwxt-reactor-and-fuel-selected-for-darpa-space-project-11074621

The USA's Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) has finalised an agreement with Lockheed Martin to begin work on the fabrication and design of an experimental nuclear thermal rocket and its engine. BWX Technologies, one of Lockheed Martin's partners in the effort, will develop the nuclear reactor and fabricate the HALEU fuel.

Date: Thursday, 27 July 2023
Original article: world-nuclear-news.org/Articles/BWXT-to-begin-work-on-DRACO-engine-and-fuel

UK-based Pulsar Fusion has entered into a partnership with US Princeton Satellite Systems (PSS) to apply machine learning to study data from the Princeton field-reverse configuration (PFRC-2) reactor. The aim is to advance delivery of practical fusion propelled spacecraft that can make interstellar space travel practical.

Date: Saturday, 17 June 2023
Original article: neimagazine.com/news/newstransatlantic-partnership-to-advance-interstellar-fusion-travel-10946500

NASA and the US Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) are to collaborate on development of advanced nuclear thermal propulsion technology for rocket engines. NASA and DARPA will partner on the Demonstration Rocket for Agile Cislunar Operations (DRACO) programme with a view to enabling NASA crewed missions to Mars.

Date: Friday, 27 January 2023
Original article: neimagazine.com/news/newsnasa-and-darpa-to-develop-nuclear-rocket-engines-10546261

The USA's National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) and the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) are to collaborate on developing and demonstrating a nuclear thermal rocket engine in space by 2027.

Date: Thursday, 26 January 2023
Original article: world-nuclear-news.org/Articles/NASA-to-test-nuclear-nuclear-rocket-engine-for-man

The US Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) is seeking proposals for Phases 2 and 3 of its Demonstration Rocket for Agile Cislunar Operations (DRACO) programme, which aims to demonstrate a nuclear thermal propulsion (NTP) system in orbit in fiscal year 2026.

Date: Wednesday, 11 May 2022
Original article: world-nuclear-news.org/Articles/US-cislunar-rocket-project-proceeds-to-next-stage

Experts at an International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) webinar “Atoms for Space: Nuclear Systems for Space Exploration”, agreed that nuclear technology will continue to play a vital role in future space missions.  More than 500 people from 66 countries attended the webinar on 15 and 16 February. Experts from the public and private sectors concluded that humanity is poised to embark on a new age of space travel to Mars, our solar system and beyond as nuclear power and related technologies promise to make interplanetary missions faster, more efficient and economical.  

Date: Thursday, 24 February 2022
Original article: neimagazine.com/news/newsiaea-says-nuclear-is-vital-for-space-missions-9503585