The US Air Force wants future spacecraft to have atomic motors

Lockheed Martin has been awarded $33.7 million by the US Air Force Research Laboratory to develop nuclear-powered electric propulsion systems for spacecraft.
– Lockheed Martin will work with Space Nuclear Power Corp and BWX Technologies to build a fission reactor that can be used to fly probes through space.
– The reactor system is expected to split the atoms in uranium fuel, and use the resulting heat to drive Stirling engines connected to generators to produce between between six and 20 kW of electric capacity.
– The electricity can then be used to power the craft’s onboard electronics and electric Hall thrusters for propulsion.
– The Air Force is interested in fission-driven craft for military missions and exploration.
– Lockheed Martin stressed that safety is a top priority with JETSON.
– The proposed uranium fission reactor system will ideally provide more energy than RTGs and solar arrays.
– JETSON “draws heavily from the design and lessons of the 2018 Kilopower Reactor Using Stirling Technology ( KRUSTY ) demonstration led by NASA and the DoE’s National Nuclear Security Administration.”
– NASA continues to work on nuclear thermal propulsion hardware, and believes the technology is key to helping astronauts reach Mars and explore space beyond the Red Planet more efficiently.

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