The Agency for Advanced Defense Research Projects (DARPA) has selected three large space companies for the first phase of a larger project to test nuclear propulsion above Earth’s low orbit by 2025.
General Atomics, Blue Origin and Lockheed Martin each received contracts for the first phase of the Demonstration Rocket for Agile Cislunar Operations (DRACO) program. While DARPA did not disclose the contract’s values in its announcement, Space News reported that General Atomics received $ 22 million, Lockheed Martin $ 2.9 million and Blue Origin $ 2.5 million.
The teams were selected because of their ability to develop and implement advanced systems for reactors, propulsion and spacecraft, DARPA officials said in a statement. The agency stressed in particular the need for a “rapid maneuver” for military systems, but said that this is difficult in space with conventional systems.
Related: The US military is looking at the nuclear thermal missile for missions in Earth-Moon space
“Current electric and chemical space propulsion systems have disadvantages in terms of weight and fuel efficiency,” the agency said in the same version, adding that nuclear thermal propulsion (NTP) should address these common issues.
NTP systems use fission reactors that heat fuels (such as hydrogen) to high temperatures, throwing gas at high speeds through nozzles for pushing. The power-to-weight ratio of NTP is about 10,000 times higher than electric propulsion systems, and fuel efficiency (also known as specific impulse) is two to five times higher than conventional chemical missiles, DARPA officials wrote. in a description of the DRACO Program.
The first phase of the program has two tracks, lasting 18 months, each company following different paths. Route A includes the preliminary design of the nuclear thermal propulsion reactor, together with the propulsion subsystem. Route B will create an “operating system spacecraft concept” to meet future mission objectives, including a demonstration system.
The development of the Track A reactor will be carried out by General Atomics, while the work of Track B will be followed independently by Blue Origin and Lockheed Martin, added DARPA. “Phase 1 of DRACO is expected to inform the tracking phases for detailed design, fabrication and in-orbit demonstration. Any tracking phases will be requested by DARPA in a future announcement,” the agency said.
This month’s DARPA announcement stems from a $ 14 million order for DRACO from Gryphon Technologies, a Washington, DC-based company that provides technical and technical solutions to national security organizations in September 2020.
NASA’s past administration has also expressed interest in the potential of nuclear propulsion, especially for reducing travel time on Mars by half to about three or four months, compared to chemical propulsion. The agency said it hopes astronauts will reach the red planet in the 2030s.
“This is absolutely a game changer for what NASA is trying to achieve,” said former NASA administrator Jim Bridenstine at a 2019 National Space Council meeting. “This gives us an opportunity to truly protect life, when we talk about the radiation dose when we travel between Earth and Mars, “he added.
Follow Elizabeth Howell on Twitter @howellspace. Follow us on Twitter @Spacedotcom and on Facebook.