Overview
- OSTP released a six-page policy Tuesday at the Space Symposium that directs NASA, the Pentagon, and the Department of Energy to develop and fly space fission reactors.
- The memo sets targets to deploy a reactor in orbit as early as 2028 and a lunar surface unit as early as 2030, with a Defense Department mid-power in-space demo aimed for 2031 pending funding.
- NASA must launch a mid-power reactor program within 30 days, DOE must deliver a 60-day industrial readiness review, and the Pentagon owes a 90-day briefing on use cases and payloads.
- The plan orders parallel design competitions with private partners and calls for reactors of at least 20 kWe, with an optional 1 kWe risk-reduction design and at least one path scalable to 100 kWe.
- NASA’s SR-1 Freedom, a 20 kWe nuclear electric propulsion mission announced in March, offers an early testbed for flight heritage, though analysts warn the schedule faces technical, regulatory, and launch constraints.