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15 news articles found
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.
- Source: NEI Magazine
- 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.
- Source: NEI Magazine
- Date: Thursday, 26 October 2023
- Original article: neimagazine.com/news/newsusnc-wins-nasa-nuclear-propulsion-contract-11242887
Contracts also signed by companies in US
- Source: Nucnet
- Date: Saturday, 21 October 2023
- Original article: nucnet.org/news/framatome-launches-new-brand-in-bid-to-play-decisive-role-10-5-2023
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.
- Source: NEI Magazine
- 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.
- Source: World Nuclear News
- 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.
- Source: NEI Magazine
- 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.
- Source: NEI Magazine
- 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.
- Source: World Nuclear News
- 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.
- Source: World Nuclear News
- Date: Wednesday, 11 May 2022
- Original article: world-nuclear-news.org/Articles/US-cislunar-rocket-project-proceeds-to-next-stage
The European Space Agency (ESA) has awarded a contract to Belgian company Tractebel to evaluate the possibility of producing plutonium-238 (Pu-238) for use in space exploration. Separately, US company X-energy, working as part of a General Atomics Electromagnetic Systems (GA-EMS) team, is to develop key fuel fabrication processes in support of a first-of-a-kind rocket powered by nuclear thermal propulsion under a contract awarded by the US Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA).
- Source: World Nuclear News
- Date: Thursday, 02 September 2021
- Original article: world-nuclear-news.org/Articles/European-and-US-nuclear-companies-contribute-to-sp