nuclear-news

US military gives Lockheed Martin $33.7 million to develop nuclear spacecraft

Space, By Andrew Jones, 10 Nov 23

The aerospace giant will develop power and propulsion systems under its JETSON project.

Lockheed Martin has been handed a contract to work on nuclear-powered spacecraft technologies.

The U.S. Air Force Research Laboratory (AFRL) awarded $33.7 million to Lockheed Martin as part of the Joint Emergent Technology Supplying On-Orbit Nuclear (JETSON) effort to “mature high-power nuclear electric power and propulsion technologies and spacecraft design.”

JETSON aims to launch a fission reactor that will be started up once in space. The reactor will generate heat, which is then transferred to Stirling power converters to produce electricity. This can then be used to power spacecraft payloads or electric thrusters for propulsion……………………………………………………………………………..

In addition, Westinghouse Government Services, based in South Carolina, received a contract to continue research into utilizing high-power nuclear fission systems in spacecraft.

The new award to Lockheed Martin is another win for the company in the field of space nuclear power. In July, NASA and the U.S. military chose the aerospace giant to develop and launch a spacecraft to test nuclear thermal propulsion in space. …….. https://www.space.com/space-nuclear-power-tech-lockheed-martin-jetson-contract

November 13, 2023 - Posted by Christina Macpherson | Uncategorized