Lockheed Martin headquarters in Bethesda, Md., in April 2014. The Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency in partnership with NASA awarded the aerospace giant a contract to build out an experimental nuclear-powered spacecraft that would make travel to the moon and Mars more efficient. (Andrew Harrer/Bloomberg )
(Tribune News Service) — Lockheed Martin was awarded a contract by the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency in partnership with NASA to build out an experimental nuclear-powered spacecraft that aims to make trips to the moon and Mars more efficient.
The contract announced Wednesday gives the aerospace giant the go-ahead under the Demonstration Rocket for Agile Cislunar Operations, under which it will build out an experimental nuclear thermal rocket vehicle, or X-NTRV, to be launched no later than 2027.
The value of the contract has yet to be published by DARPA, the Department of Defense arm that looks to build out new technologies for the U.S. military. It partnered with NASA in January as both seek a cheaper, and in some ways safer, way to move long distances in space.
“The space domain is critical to modern commerce, scientific discovery and national security,” DARPA Director Stefanie Tompkins said in January. “The ability to accomplish leap-ahead advances in space technology through the DRACO nuclear thermal rocket program will be essential for more efficiently and quickly transporting material to the moon and, eventually, people to Mars.”
NASA’s investment of up to $300 million over the project is in step with the needs of its Artemis program, which looks to return humans for a permanent presence on the moon, but then expand to Mars and other deep-space destinations. NASA’s funds will target costs for the design and development of the nuclear-powered engine and technical oversight.
“Working with DARPA and companies across the commercial space industry will enable us to accelerate the technology development we need to send humans to Mars,” NASA Deputy Administrator Pam Melroy said. “This demonstration will be a crucial step in meeting our moon-to-Mars objectives for crew transportation into deep space.”
The nuclear thermal rocket plans aim to provide about the same energy as current chemical rocket propulsion but can be two to five times more efficient, DARPA program manager Tabitha Dodson said. That means the potential to trade off fuel space for more cargo, while also allowing for more power for on-board instruments.
“With a successful demonstration, we could significantly advance humanity’s means for going faster and farther in space and pave the way for the future deployment for all fission-based nuclear space technologies,” Dodson said.
Dodson said that could also mean shorter duration missions as the fuel would allow for more aggressive trajectories or creative burn profiles, especially for cargo missions. It also allows for abort mission options for long-distance travel that would not have been possible before, which is an added layer of safety for humans.
Lockheed Martin based in Littleton, Colo., has a history of working with nuclear power controls for earthbound projects such as power plants and submarines as well as building some of NASA’s radioisotope thermoelectric generators for planetary missions. It is partnering with BWXT Advanced Technologies of Lynchburg, Va., which will develop the nuclear reactor for the spacecraft. The contract calls for Lockheed Martin to head up spacecraft design, integration and testing.
“This is a prime technology that can be used to transport humans and materials to the moon,” said Lockheed Martin Space’s Kirk Shireman with the company’s Lunar Exploration Campaigns program. “A safe, reusable nuclear tug spacecraft would revolutionize cislunar operations. With more speed, agility and maneuverability, nuclear thermal propulsion also has many national security applications for cislunar space.”
Lockheed is involved in NASA’s other Mars endeavors as well including being chosen to be what could be the first spacecraft to ever launch from the Red Planet, an ascent vehicle to be part of the Mars Sample Return mission. Its main connection with NASA’s Artemis, though, comes through the Orion spacecraft. To what end it will be used on future Mars missions has yet to be mapped out, but Shireman said the speed tradeoff that comes with nuclear-powered fuel could be key to protecting its passengers.
“Reducing transit time is vital for human missions to Mars to limit a crew’s exposure to (space) radiation,” Shireman said.
BWXT will fabricate the fuel called HALEU, which stands for high-assay low-enriched uranium. The Department of Energy will provide the raw materials.
The end goal of the shift to nuclear powered spacecraft is to make space travel faster. Right now with chemical propulsion, a one-way trip to Mars, for instance, would take around nine months with optimum planetary positions.
“These more powerful and efficient nuclear thermal propulsion systems can provide faster transit times between destinations,” Shireman said. “Reducing transit time is vital for human missions to Mars to limit a crew’s exposure to radiation.”
A big issue with any nuclear-powered item is the threat to the human population, especially on launch. To mitigate the danger, the fission reactor will not be turned on until the spacecraft is a safe distance from Earth.
The nuclear reaction will still be heating cryogenic fuel to provide propulsion, and will reach temperatures of around 5,000 degrees Fahrenheit, one of the factors with which NASA has a lot of experience.
“NASA is uniquely positioned to provide guidance on the challenging rocket engine and cryogenic fluid management specifications with liquid hydrogen to meet specific mission needs,” Dodson said.
Dodson said the mission will run through several experiments with the reactor at various power levels before opening it up to a full-power test.
Its launch will be managed by the Space Force aiming for liftoff in 2027, which puts it in the hands of either SpaceX or United Launch Alliance, flying from either Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida or Vandenburg Space Force Base in California.
©2023 Orlando Sentinel.
Visit orlandosentinel.com.
Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.
