BWX Technologies has been chosen under a Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency program to provide its reactor and fuels for the first demonstration spacecraft that uses nuclear thermal propulsion.
The company’s subsidiary, BWXT Advanced Technologies, will collaborate with team lead Lockheed Martin to finalize and deliver the fueled nuclear reactor for the Demonstration Rocket for Agile Cislunar Operations, BWXT announced from its Lynchburg, Virginia headquarters on Wednesday.
BWXT Advanced Technologies President Joe Miller said that this selection reflects the organization’s ability to design and deploy nuclear reactors and fuel at an “unmatched” scale.
“This partnership with Lockheed Martin working for DARPA adds another important dimension to BWXT’s already-impressive line-up of nuclear reactor designs for commercial and defense applications,” he added.
As a collaborator, BWXT will support the launch of the DRACO spacecraft, which DARPA has planned for 2027. DRACO is designed to launch from earth by a conventional rocket with the reactor turned off, aligning with launch safety protocols. Once launched, the reactor will be powered on.
With the reactor’s propulsion-enabling energy, DRACO will be equipped to navigate through space at high speeds with agility over lengthy periods of time. The technology uses High Assay Low Enriched Uranium fuel to quickly heat super-cold gasses — such as liquid hydrogen — for safety and reliability. This process causes a quick expansion of the gas, creating thrust to propel the spacecraft more efficiently than chemical combustion engines.
“These more powerful and efficient nuclear thermal propulsion systems can provide faster transit times between destinations. Reducing transit time is vital for human missions to Mars to limit a crew’s exposure to radiation,” said Kirk Shireman, vice president of lunar exploration campaigns at Lockheed Martin Space.
Shireman said that the system is a “prime technology” to take humans and materials to the moon.
“A safe, reusable nuclear tug spacecraft would revolutionize cislunar operations,” he added.
The team will carry out the work primarily at BWXT’s Mt. Athos Road complex located near its Lynchburg headquarters.
