Darpa - the US Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency - has chosen General Atomics Electromagnetic Systems (GA-EMS) to lead the design of a novel nuclear thermal propulsion (NTP) system that will allow a rocket to operate in cislunar space. "We are excited to support Darpa in defining ...
According to DARPA, DRACO’s nuclear thermal propulsion system could enable rapid maneuver in space, which is difficult to perform with spacecraft powered by electric or chemical propulsion. While chemical systems provide a high thrust-to-weight ratio and electric systems offer high ...
General Atomics,Lockheed Martin(NYSE: LMT) andBlue Originhave received contracts to conduct risk reduction efforts for the first phase of a Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency program aiming to build and demonstrate nuclear thermal propulsion technology. The three companies wil...
NASA is still shooting for the Red Planet, aiming to get astronauts there by the late 2030s or early 2040s. And it still viewsnuclear thermal propulsion as a key breakthroughthat could make this goal more attainable, by slashing the travel time to and from the Red Planet. Nuclear thermal ...
The goal of the program is deceptively simple: Use a nuclear thermal propulsion system to power a spacecraft beyond low Earth orbit. The Pentagon's research and development agency says a nuclear powered spacecraft has the potential to achieve both the high power of an chemical-based propulsion ...
NASA and DARPA are to partner on the development of the DRACO nuclear thermal propulsion test in space