US military wants to demonstrate new nuclear power systems in space by 2027
The organization, which seeks to get the military ready to use emergent commercial products, announced two prototype contracts on May 17 "to demonstrate the next generation of nuclear propulsion and power capability for spacecraft." The ultimate aim is an orbital flight demonstration in 2027, DIU officials said in a statement(opens in new tab).
The contracts went to two companies, Ultra Safe Nuclear and Avalanche Energy, to demonstrate nuclear propulsion and power capabilities for small spacecraft that would operate in cislunar (Earth-moon) space. (The values of the contracts were not disclosed in the release.)
It's part of the U.S. military's pressing focus on cislunar activities to keep an eye on commercial and government activities that will ramp up there in the coming decades, including the international NASA-led Artemis program that seeks to put people on the moon in the 2020s.
US military wants to demonstrate new nuclear power systems in space by 2027
Sources Used:
All images are taken from Google Images for educational purposes only.