https://www.livescience.com/nasa-nuclear-powered-rocket
This is the first time a nuclear powered engine has been tested in fifty years. An Artist's concept image of Demonstration for the Rocket to Agile Cislunar Operations (DRACO) spacecraft, which

https://www.nytimes.com/2023/07/26/science/nasa-nuclear-rocket-darpa.html
BWX Technologies, based in Lynchburg, Va., will build the nuclear fission reactor at the heart of the engine. The $499 million program is named DRACO, short for the Demonstration Rocket for Agile

https://www.nasa.gov/news-release/nasa-darpa-will-test-nuclear-engine-for-future-mars-missions/
The last nuclear thermal rocket engine tests conducted by the United States occurred more than 50 years ago under NASA's Nuclear Engine for Rocket Vehicle Application and Rover projects. "With this collaboration, we will leverage our expertise gained from many previous space nuclear power and propulsion projects," said Jim Reuter

https://www.nasa.gov/tdm/space-nuclear-propulsion/
Space Nuclear Propulsion. Space nuclear propulsion is a technology that draws energy from fission instead of traditional chemical reactions, thus providing virtually unlimited energy density and opening the door for crewed missions to Mars and deep space science. NASA is looking at two types of nuclear propulsion systems - thermal and electric.

https://www.nasa.gov/directorates/stmd/tech-demo-missions-program/nuclear-thermal-propulsion-game-changing-technology-for-deep-space-exploration/
NTP research is part of the space agency's storied history. In 1961, NASA and the former Atomic Energy Commission jointly embarked on the Nuclear Engine for Rocket Vehicle Application (NERVA) program - an effort that over several years led to the design, building, and testing of reactors and rocket engines.

https://www.energy.gov/ne/articles/6-things-you-should-know-about-nuclear-thermal-propulsion
NASA wants to send astronauts to Mars, and they could do it with nuclear-powered rocket engines. Nuclear thermal propulsion (NTP) systems aren't new, but they could significantly reduce travel times and carry greater payloads than today's top chemical rockets­ — giving humans a great chance of exploring deep space. Here are 6 things you

https://www.space.com/nasa-darpa-nuclear-thermal-rocket-draco-2026
NASA and the U.S. military plan to launch a nuclear-powered spacecraft to Earth orbit in late 2025 or early 2026. The project, known as DRACO ("Demonstration Rocket for Agile Cislunar Operations

https://www.nbcnews.com/science/space/nasa-sights-set-mars-help-nuclear-rocket-engine-rcna84060
A conventional spacecraft powered by burning liquid fuel typically takes around seven or eight months to reach the red planet. Scientists have said nuclear rocket engines could shave off at least

https://www.cnn.com/2023/01/24/world/nasa-nuclear-thermal-rocket-engine-mars-scn/index.html
An artist's concept depicts the DRACO spacecraft, which will demonstrate a nuclear thermal rocket engine. Nuclear thermal propulsion technology could be used for future NASA crewed missions to Mars.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nuclear_thermal_rocket
The engine is in the left background with a shield structure in the mid/foreground. A nuclear thermal rocket ( NTR) is a type of thermal rocket where the heat from a nuclear reaction replaces the chemical energy of the propellants in a chemical rocket. In an NTR, a working fluid, usually liquid hydrogen, is heated to a high temperature in a

https://www.cnn.com/2021/02/03/world/nuclear-powered-rocket-scn-spc-intl/index.html
Faster space travel. Most rockets today are powered by chemical engines. These could get you to Mars, but it would take a long time - at least three years for a round trip - says Jeff Sheehy

https://www.livescience.com/space/space-exploration/nasas-1st-nuclear-powered-rocket-could-launch-as-soon-as-2025
The U.S. plans to launch the world's first nuclear-powered spacecraft into orbit as early as 2025, NASA and the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) have announced. The $499 million

https://arstechnica.com/space/2023/07/nasa-seeks-to-launch-a-nuclear-powered-rocket-engine-in-four-years/
reader comments 388. Four years from now, if all goes well, a nuclear-powered rocket engine will launch into space for the first time. The rocket itself will be conventional, but the payload

https://www.space.com/nasa-darpa-nuclear-thermal-rocket-2027
NASA's Nuclear Engine for Rocket Vehicle Application, or NERVA program, sought to launch a crewed Mars mission in 1979 powered by a nuclear rocket. The program was canceled in 1972 due to budget

https://www1.grc.nasa.gov/research-and-engineering/nuclear-thermal-propulsion-systems/
Related Reading and Additional Images. Kilopower - A Fission Surface Power GRC led project. Project Rover and NERVA Programs - Historical Glenn Rockets Systems Areas. History of Nuclear Propulsion (air- and space-craft) - NESC Academy Video Figure 5: Rover/NERVA Engine Figure 6: Rover/NERVA Program History Figure 7: Rover/NERVA Test Articles. For further reading on historical Rover/NERVA

https://www.cbc.ca/radio/quirks/nuclear-powered-rockets-could-take-us-to-mars-but-will-the-public-accept-them-1.6727217
Nuclear rockets are not a new idea. Experiments were conducted in the 1950s by the U.S. military and later NASA but never put into space. Now, with the prospect of sending humans to Mars in the

https://ntrs.nasa.gov/api/citations/20170003378/downloads/20170003378.pdf
nuclear rocket engine ever tested (Phoebus 2a) is shown during a high-power test. The reactor operated for about 32 minutes, 12 minutes at ... advanced space nuclear power and propulsion, which could eventually help enable exploration and development of the solar system.

https://theconversation.com/to-safely-explore-the-solar-system-and-beyond-spaceships-need-to-go-faster-nuclear-powered-rockets-may-be-the-answer-137967
An update of 50-year-old regulations has kickstarted research into the next generation of rockets. Powered by nuclear fission, these new systems could be the key to faster, safer exploration of space.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nuclear_propulsion
Advocates of nuclear-powered spacecraft point out that at the time of launch, there is almost no radiation released from the nuclear reactors. Nuclear-powered rockets are not used to lift off the Earth. Nuclear thermal rockets can provide great performance advantages compared to chemical propulsion systems.

https://www.nasa.gov/solar-system/nuclear-propulsion-could-help-get-humans-to-mars-faster/
As NASA's Perseverance rover homes in on the Red Planet, engineers on the ground are furthering potential propulsion technologies for the first human missions to Mars. NASA is looking at two types of nuclear propulsion systems - nuclear electric and nuclear thermal propulsion. Nuclear electric propulsion systems use propellants much more efficiently than chemical rockets but provide a low

https://spacenews.com/bwxt-to-provide-nuclear-reactor-engine-and-fuel-for-darpa-space-project/
The spacecraft is targeted for a 2027 launch from Earth in "cold" status (meaning that the reactor is turned off as a part of launch safety protocols) by a conventional rocket, and then the

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nuclear_electric_rocket
A nuclear electric rocket (more properly nuclear electric propulsion) is a type of spacecraft propulsion system where thermal energy from a nuclear reactor is converted to electrical energy, which is used to drive an ion thruster or other electrical spacecraft propulsion technology. The nuclear electric rocket terminology is slightly inconsistent, as technically the "rocket" part of the

https://observer.com/2023/08/nuclear-rocket-space-billionaire/
In July, a U.K.-based aerospace company called Pulsar Fusion announced plans to build a rocket powered by nuclear fusion, instead of fission, that could reach speeds as high as 500,000 miles per

https://www1.grc.nasa.gov/historic-facilities/rockets-systems-area/7911-2/
The Nuclear Engine for Rocket Vehicle Applications (NERVA) was a joint NASA and Atomic Energy Commission endeavor to develop a nuclear-powered rocket for both long-range missions to Mars and as a possible upper-stage for the Apollo Program. On this page: Project Rover and NERVA Programs. Nozzle Cooling. Cooling the Moderator.

https://ntrs.nasa.gov/citations/20240005164
The design and development process of a Nuclear Thermal Propulsion (NTP) system requires extensive multiphysics modeling to couple the neutron physics and thermal feedback effects to determine the reactor's power shape. Propulsion system performance codes utilize this power shape to determine NTP key performance parameters. While the power shape is heavily dependent on the temperature

https://www.abc.net.au/news/2024-06-28/what-is-nuclear-energy-explainer/104032364
The paper concluded nuclear power used much more water than solar, a point Bjorn Sturmberg is keen to make too. "Renewables don't do any heating of water, and therefore they don't need a reservoir

https://repcloakroom.house.gov/amendment/h-r-8774-department-of-defense-appropriations-act-2025/
EN BLOC #4 Offered by Calvert (R-CA) ADOPTED BY VOICE Banks (R-IN) - Amendment No. 9 - Provides $10M in Navy O&M funding to accelerate the expansion of the Marine Corps' current Nucleated Foam Engine Performance and Restoration Program to additional aircraft across the Marine Aircraft Wing fleets Banks (R-IN) - Amendment No. 11 - Provides $2M for Army RDT&E for a federated data

https://rules.house.gov/sites/republicans.rules118.house.gov/files/RulesReport06252024.pdf
Rocket Propulsion Division (Air Force RDT&E, PE 0603216F, Line 20, Aerospace Propulsion and Power Technology account) and decreases Operations and Maintenance Defense-Wide (page 9, line 19) by $4,000,000. This would help replace a nearly 70-year-old layered tank

https://www.nytimes.com/2024/06/26/world/asia/north-korea-missile-test.html
A multi-warhead nuclear missile has long been on Mr. Kim's wish list. But while the North has carried out several successful nuclear tests, it has yet to show that it can design even a single

https://www.latimes.com/la-influential/story/2024-06-30/palmer-luckey-anduril
Luckey's company has also developed a tube-launched drone with a "loitering munition" model (a.k.a. an exploding drone) and bought a rocket engine manufacturer in Mississippi that makes