Nuclear powered spacecraft could be the pinnacle of this century’s space race. Concepts and designs for reactor-powered rockets have been around for more than 50 years but have never left the testing phase. Despite its bold ambition to go where no one has gone before, the United States’ latest move to acquire nuclear propulsion is a leap forward for new enemy in orbit, People ‘Republic of China.
The latest nuclear missile project is set to launch in 2023 when NASA and DARPA award Lockheed Martin a $499 million deal to build the Demonstrator Rocket for the Agile Cislunar Operation. DRACO, a catchy acronym, will be about 49 feet long and 17.7 feet in diameter to fit on the Vulcan Centaur rocket that will lift it off the surface. The Centaur will soon be the launch vehicle for Boeing Starliner aircraft. Ars Engineering presented the case for DRACO that the United States Space Command presented to Congress:
DARPA’s website says it has always had a singular mission: to invest in breakthrough technologies for national security. What does a nuclear-powered spacecraft have to do with national security? The military’s view was alluded to by General James Dickinson, an officer with the US Space Command, in testimony before Congress in April 2021.
“Beijing is seeking superiority in space through offensive space systems,” he said, referring to intelligence gathered on the Shijian-17, a Chinese satellite equipped with a robotic arm that could be used to “grapple with other satellites.” It sounds absurd, but it’s enough to give the green light to a nuclear-powered spacecraft.
The appeal of nuclear-powered rockets is efficiency. They are twice as efficient as conventional chemical rockets because they only need to carry hydrogen as fuel and do not need an oxidizer to create ignition in the vacuum of space. That efficiency can be used to achieve extremely high speeds. DRACO is intended as a test bed for rapid-reaction rockets. between the Earth and the Moon, a military deterrent in space.
There was just one problem. The missile needed to carry fissile material for the reactor, weapons-grade uranium. DRACO would use high-alloy low-enriched uranium (HALEU), a new fuel that is less enriched and much more difficult to make into a nuclear weapon. Using the missile should not endanger the public because Centaur’s chemical rocket will be used to launch it from the launch pad.
Putting aside the imminent threat of the International Space Station’s demise, it’s hard not to be excited about space exploration right now. NASA’s Artemis Program is in the process of returning to the Moon for good with a surface outpost and a station in lunar orbit. From there, Mars and the Rest of the Solar System could be next on the agenda.
