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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

Westinghouse Electric Company and lunar landers and rovers developer Astrobotic have signed a memorandum of understanding to explore collaboration on space technology programmes for NASA and the US Department of Defense.

Date: Saturday, 03 June 2023
Original article: world-nuclear-news.org/Articles/Westinghouse,-Astrobotic-team-up-on-space-projects

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

Plants could be used for missions to Mars A NASA illustration of a conceptual spacecraft using nuclear thermal propulsion. Courtesy NASA. NASA has selected three teams of companies to perform concept studies of nuclear thermal propulsion (NTP) reactors while making plans to fund similar studies for nuclear surface power systems.

Each contract is worth approximately $5m and will last one year.

One contract will go to BWX Technologies, working with Lockheed Martin. A second contract will go to General Atomics Electromagnetic Systems, working with X-energy and Aerojet Rocketdyne. The third will go to Ultra Safe Nuclear Technologies, working with its parent company, Ultra Safe Nuclear Corporation, as well as Blue Origin, General Electric Hitachi Nuclear Energy, General Electric Research, Framatome and Materion.

All three studies are focused on developing a design for a reactor that would be part of a future NTP system. That reactor would heat up a propellant such as liquid hydrogen, generating thrust at far higher efficiencies than conventional propulsion systems and enabling shorter transit times for missions to Mars.

Date: Friday, 16 July 2021
Original article: nucnet.org/news/nasa-announces-funding-for-three-thermal-propulsion-reactors-7-4-2021

Three reactor design concept proposals for a nuclear thermal propulsion system for deep space missions have been selected by the US National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) and the Department of Energy (DOE). The reactor will be a critical component of a nuclear thermal engine, which would utilise high-assay low-enriched uranium fuel.

Date: Thursday, 15 July 2021
Original article: world-nuclear-news.org/Articles/NASA-selects-reactor-concepts-for-deep-space-explo

The US Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (Darpa) said on 11 June that it had recently awarded contracts to General Atomics (Track A, $22M) and Blue Origin (Track B, $2.5M) with Ultra Safe Nuclear Technologies (USNC-Tech) providing critical support to both prime contractors in the first phase of the Demonstration Rocket for Agile Cislunar Operations (Draco) programme. Draco will develop a nuclear thermal propulsion (NTP) system for cislunar operations, targeting a full-scale, on-orbit demonstration in 2025. USNC-Tech is the only company participating in both Track A and Track B teams.

Date: Wednesday, 23 June 2021
Original article: neimagazine.com/news/newsus-darpa-awards-contracts-for-draco-programme-8840312

The US Administration has issued a new directive on the use of nuclear power and propulsion in space. Space Policy Directive-6 (SPD-6) establishes high-level goals, principles, roles and responsibilities, and a supporting roadmap demonstrating the nation's commitment to the safe, effective and responsible use of space nuclear power and propulsion (SNPP) systems.

Date: Friday, 18 December 2020
Original article: world-nuclear-news.org/Articles/US-Administration-issues-Space-Policy-Directive

Gryphon Technologies has been awarded a USD14 million task order by the US Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) to support its Demonstration Rocket for Agile Cislunar Operations (DRACO) programme. Specifically, Gryphon will support the development and demonstration of a high-assay, low-enriched uranium (HALEU) nuclear thermal propulsion (NTP) system.

Date: Thursday, 01 October 2020
Original article: world-nuclear-news.org/Articles/Gryphon-to-help-develop-HALEU-fuelled-cislunar-roc

The US National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) on 30 July launched the Perseverance Mars from Cape Canaveral in Florida. The rover is expected to land on Mars in February 2021. It will be powered by a Multi-Mission Radioisotope Thermoelectric Generator (MMRTG) developed at the Department of Energy's (DOE’s) Idaho National Laboratory (INL). NASA said the rover, was powered by the United Launch Alliance (ULA) Atlas V 541 rocket. ULA is the only space launch provider certified to handle Radioisotope Thermoelectric Generators (RTGs), according to ULA president and CEO, Tory Bruno. NASA certifies the rocket, but NASA and DOE together certify the provider to carry a nuclear payload, he explained.

Date: Tuesday, 04 August 2020
Original article: neimagazine.com/news/newsnasas-new-mars-rover-powered-by-rtgs-8059097

Battelle Energy Alliance, LLC (BEA), the managing and operating contractor for the US Department of Energy's Idaho National Laboratory, has issued a request for information (RFI) on a fission surface power (FSP) system that can be operated on the Moon.

Date: Tuesday, 28 July 2020
Original article: world-nuclear-news.org/Articles/INL-seeks-industry-partners-for-lunar-nuclear-powe

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