The Space Nuclear Power Bottleneck — And How To Fix It

No technology holds more transformative potential for America’s space aspirations than nuclear power. Radioisotopes can safely produce heat that will enable deep space exploration and survival of the frigid lunar night while fission reactors are capable of producing kilowatts of electricity on the moon or in orbit.

Fission is also the key to advanced nuclear propulsion systems that can expedite transit times to Mars and increase payload capacity throughout the solar system. Recognizing this, NASA has pledged to test a nuclear propulsion system by the end of 2028, and the White House has challenged the industry with landing a surface fission reactor on the moon in 2030. Ambitious goals, but absolutely within reach.

Several fission system developers are preparing to compete for NASA’s Fission Surface Power opportunity. Many of these companies already have matured designs and in some cases prototype systems. But converting a paper reactor into mission hardware requires specialized testing environments that simply don’t exist today.

These new facilities must support a range of fuel types — from High Assay Low Enriched Uranium to potentially even highly enriched uranium based on mission demand. They must be designed, licensed and constructed immediately if we expect to meet a 2030 lunar deployment.
Maturing and proving reactor performance is just the first step in releasing the clog of space nuclear system development.

The next hurdle is system-level demonstration. Reactors do not operate in isolation; they integrate with landers, radiators, converters and deployment hardware. The U.S. lacks a nuclear compatible, vacuum-capable facility large enough to test a full fission-lander system. Such a facility must replicate thermal cycling, vibration, vacuum conditions and operational loads.

It must blend space system engineering with the rigor associated with nuclear safety, essentially creating a new class of hybrid test complex. Without it, performance in space remains an assumption rather than validation. The result must be a very large facility that combines conventional space system requirements with nuclear and radiation safety requirements.

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