Page 3 - Tabitha Dodson News Today

Lockheed Martin was awarded a contract by federal agency DARPA in partnership with NASA to build out an experimental nuclear-powered spacecraft that aims to make trips to the moon and

“This demonstration will be a crucial step in meeting our Moon to Mars objectives for crew transportation into deep space," said the deputy administrator of NASA.

The United States is looking to make history and launch the first nuclear-powered rocket engine into space in as soon as four years.

Called DRACO, the in-space propulsion system could revolutionize the way we travel to distant locations.

As NASA shifts its gaze back to the Moon and sets its sights on Mars and beyond in the coming decades, the agency is rethinking the means by which we’ll get there. After previously announcing a collaboration between NASA and the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) for a nuclear-powered rocket intended for long-distance space travel, the two agencies have now selected Lockheed Martin to develop a demonstration.

The USA's Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency has finalised an agreement with Lockheed Martin to begin work on the fabrication and design of an experimental nuclear thermal rocket and its engine. BWX Technologies, one of Lockheed Martin's partners in the effort, will develop the nuclear reactor and fabricate the HALEU fuel.

Lockheed is designing a spacecraft that can carry an experimental nuclear reactor engine and fuel developed by Virginia-based BWXT.

"NASA is looking to go to Mars with this system."

The space agency and DARPA will work with Lockheed Martin to build a vehicle that uses the power of the atom for space propulsion.

Lockheed Martin was awarded a contract by the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency in partnership with NASA to build out an experimental nuclear-powered spacecraft that aims to make trips to the moon and Mars more efficient.