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6h ago

City Labs’ BOHR CubeSat Becomes First Commercial Nuclear‑Powered Satellite

This flight creates a regulatory template for commercial nuclear launches by testing whether tritium betavoltaic microbatteries operate reliably in orbit.

A small Miami startup just put the first commercially built nuclear-powered satellite in orbit — and the real breakthrough wasn't the hardware, it was the FAA paperwork nobody thought would clear this decade
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A tiny satellite quietly rode a SpaceX rideshare into orbit last week — and the real story isn't the hardware, it's the FAA approval nobody thought would happen this decade
Nuclear-powered satellite in space.

Overview

  • City Labs’ BOHR CubeSat was deployed to low Earth orbit on Tuesday, July 7, 2026, aboard SpaceX’s Transporter‑17 rideshare and has entered commissioning for in‑orbit tests.
  • The satellite carries City Labs’ NanoTritium betavoltaic device, which converts beta particles from tritium decay directly into electricity using a semiconductor and produces only tiny currents measured in nanowatts to microwatts.
  • BOHR’s main satellite bus remains solar powered while the NanoTritium unit runs as an independent demonstration payload to validate survival of launch vibration, thermal cycling, and the space radiation environment.
  • The flight follows an FAA affirmative payload authorization issued on September 30, 2025, based on a City Labs safety analysis independently validated by Sandia National Laboratories and funded under a U.S. Department of Defense contract.
  • Observers will watch operational data over the coming weeks to months for proof of reliable on‑orbit performance, with follow‑on activity hinging on scaling limits, global tritium supply, and the device’s low absolute power output.