The US Agency for Advanced Defense Research Projects (DARPA) has commissioned General Atomics Electromagnetic Systems (GA-EMS) to develop an NTP (Nuclear Thermal Propulsion) system.
The NTP is part of DARPA’s DRACO (Demonstration Rocket for Agile Cislunar Operations) program.
The company will lead the design of the system, which will be demonstrated in orbit, to enable a rocket to operate in “cislunar space” by 2025.
Scott Forney, President of GA-EMS, said, “We are excited to help DARPA define the next evolution in propulsion technology, which is critical to maintaining space domain awareness in the Cislunar region and beyond.
“GA-EMS is uniquely positioned to support these efforts as we have capabilities and heritage in both nuclear reactor systems and space systems that are combined to carry out the DRACO mission.”
Over the next 18 months, GA-EMS will submit a preliminary draft of the NTP system to demonstrate and ensure that the system is operationally efficient.
So far, the “SNAP-10A reactor” was the only nuclear power reactor built in America that was launched into space.
The company was directly involved in the testing and characterization of nuclear fuels for the SNAP-10A reactor.
Christina Back, GA-EMS Vice President for Nuclear Technologies and Materials, said, “We know what it takes to design and build safe, mission-specific reactors. This is demonstrated by our more than 66 TRIGA reactors (Training, Research, Isotopes, General Atomics) around the world, which are widely regarded as some of the safest reactors ever built.
“GA-EMS’s expertise in cutting-edge nuclear fuels and advanced materials is a key component in NTP design to create a highly efficient and exceptionally safe propulsion system.
“Combined with our in-house capabilities to manufacture these and other components, we can ensure delivery of a superior NTP reactor in orbit and on time.”
In January 2019, GA-EMS received an order from the Space and Missile Systems Center (SMC) of the US Air Force (USAF) to supply Hosted Payload Solutions (HoPS) for the Argos Advanced Data Collection System (A-DCS).
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