Lockheed Martin Awarded Contract to Create Nuclear-Powered Spacecraft

Lockheed Martin Corp. has been chosen by a Department of Defense agency and NASA to design and develop the inaugural nuclear thermal rocket engine for testing in space. This selection is part of the DRACO program.

Under a contract announced Wednesday with the federal research and development agency Darpa, Lockheed Martin will design and build a nuclear-powered engine and an experimental spacecraft called X-NTRV. The goal is to launch a spaceship equipped with a nuclear engine in 2027.

NASA is committing $300 million to DRACO, while the US Space Force will provide the launch vehicle and platform for the X-NTRV vehicle.

The idea of nuclear thermal power has long been considered as a way to send abbreviated crews to Mars. Such engines could produce high thrust, but with greater efficiency and less complexity than conventional chemically powered rocket engines.

Nuclear powered rocket engines transfer heat from the reactor to the hydrogen fuel. As the hydrogen heats up, it expands and funnels out of the nozzle, creating thrust.

While Lockheed Martin creates the engine, Virginia-based BWX Technologies builds the nuclear fission reactor for the engine. The Ministry of Energy also supplies HALEU fuel to the reactor.

So far, the thermal power of nuclear power has not been demonstrated in space. In the 1960s and 70s, NASA ran a program called NERVA that aimed to develop a nuclear-powered rocket engine for deep space missions, although none ever flew in space. In January, NASA and DARPA announced plans to partner with DRACO to conduct a technology demonstration in space.

A malfunction can cause a danger of radioactive material spreading. “The reactor will not be started until the spacecraft has reached a nuclear-safe orbit,” Lockheed Martin said in a statement, making the system “highly safe.”