{"id":1984217,"date":"2023-07-27T14:26:01","date_gmt":"2023-07-27T18:26:01","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/nasa-and-defense-department-partner-to-launch-first-nuclear-powered-rocket\/"},"modified":"2023-07-27T14:31:29","modified_gmt":"2023-07-27T18:31:29","slug":"nasa-and-defense-department-partner-to-launch-first-nuclear-powered-rocket","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/nasa-and-defense-department-partner-to-launch-first-nuclear-powered-rocket\/","title":{"rendered":"NASA and Defense Department partner to launch first nuclear-powered rocket"},"content":{"rendered":"<aside class=\"mashsb-container mashsb-main mashsb-stretched\"><div class=\"mashsb-box\"><div class=\"mashsb-count mash-medium\" style=\"&quot;\"><div class=\"counts mashsbcount\">20<\/div><span class=\"mashsb-sharetext\">SHARES<\/span><\/div><div class=\"mashsb-buttons\"><a class=\"mashicon-facebook mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.conservativenewsdaily.net%2Fbreaking-news%2Fnasa-and-defense-department-partner-to-launch-first-nuclear-powered-rocket%2F\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Facebook<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-twitter mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/intent\/tweet?text=&amp;url=https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=1984217&amp;via=ConservNewsDly\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Twitter<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-subscribe mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"#\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Subscribe<\/span><\/a><div class=\"onoffswitch2 mash-medium mashsb-noshadow\" style=\"display:none\"><\/div><\/div>\n            <\/div>\n                <div style=\"clear:both\"><\/div><\/aside>\n            <!-- Share buttons by mashshare.net - Version: 4.0.47--><h2>The United States Aims to Launch\u2064 First Nuclear-Powered Rocket Engine into Space<\/h2>\n<p>The United States is on the\u2062 verge of making history by launching the first-ever nuclear-powered <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/branson-wins-billionaire-space-race-hits-53-miles-above-earth-in-rocket-plane\/\" title=\"Branson Wins Billionaire Space Race, Hits 53 Miles Above Earth In Rocket Plane\">rocket engine<\/a> into space within the next four\u2063 years.\u200b NASA, \u2063in collaboration with the Department of Defense, has unveiled the ambitious $499 million project called the\u2064 Demonstration Rocket for Agile Cislunar Operations (DRACO). The primary objective of this initiative is to develop and\u200b deploy a nuclear-powered rocket engine as early as 2027.<\/p>\n<h3>Revolutionizing Space Travel<\/h3>\n<p>&#8220;NASA is looking to go to Mars with this system,&#8221;\u200c revealed Anthony Calomino, the lead\u2062 engineer of \u2064NASA&#8217;s \u200bspace nuclear propulsion technology program, in an interview with ARS Technica. &#8220;And this \u2064test is really going to give\u200b us that foundation.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>Traditionally, chemical propulsion \u200dhas\u200b been the go-to method for rockets to reach space. However, these rockets\u2062 are \u2062not efficient for interplanetary travel due to \u200cthe substantial amount of\u2062 fuel they \u200crequire. For instance, a\u200c journey \u200bto Mars using chemical propulsion would \u200ctake a minimum of seven to nine months.<\/p>\n<p>Enter nuclear \u2062propulsion. By utilizing nuclear power, the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/perseverance-rover-to-land-on-mars\/\" title=\"Perseverance Rover To Land On Mars\">travel time<\/a> to Mars could be halved, allowing astronauts to\u2062 reach the red planet in just three to four months.\u2062 This \u2062significant reduction in travel time would\u200c also minimize\u2064 the duration astronauts spend exposed to the hazards of\u200c deep space.<\/p>\n<h3>Partnerships and Innovations<\/h3>\n<p>NASA has \u2064entrusted Lockheed Martin with the responsibility of\u200c designing, building, and testing the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/u-s-to-sell-nuke-powered-submarines-to-australia\/\" title=\"U.S. to sell nuke-powered submarines to Australia\">nuclear propulsion system<\/a>\u2063 for the DRACO project. The heart of the rocket engine will\u200d feature a nuclear fission reactor constructed by BWX Technologies, a\u2064 Virginia-based company. This reactor will heat hydrogen from -420 degrees \u200dFahrenheit\u200c to a scorching\u200d 4,000\u200c degrees,\u2063 generating thrust \u2064through the expulsion of hot gas from a nozzle. Additionally, this\u2064 groundbreaking reactor \u200dtechnology could potentially\u200d power military\u200b satellites, enabling them to maneuver swiftly in Earth&#8217;s orbit.<\/p>\n<h3>A Historical \u2062Context<\/h3>\n<p>While the DRACO project is a new endeavor, the concept of nuclear \u200bpropulsion is not. As far\u2062 back as the 1950s and 60s, NASA, the Air Force, and the Advanced Research \u2063Projects Agency explored the idea \u200dof\u200d using \u2063atomic bomb explosions to accelerate spacecraft through Project Orion. Projects Rover and NERVA also aimed to\u200c <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/nasa-and-defense-department-partner-to-launch-first-nuclear-powered-rocket\/\" title=\"NASA and Defense Department join forces for inaugural nuclear-powered rocket launch.\">develop nuclear-thermal engines \u200dsimilar<\/a> to\u200d those being designed for DRACO. Although 23 reactors were constructed for \u2062these projects, none were ever \u200dlaunched\u200d into space. \u2063Notably,\u200b DRACO distinguishes itself \u2062from NERVA by employing a less-enriched form of uranium, as opposed to <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/emboldened-iran-to-hold-war-drills-with-russia-and-china\/\" title=\"Emboldened Iran To Hold War Drills With Russia and China\">weapons-grade uranium<\/a>.<\/p>\n<h3>Future Possibilities<\/h3>\n<p>NASA has contemplated the use of nuclear\u200b reactors for missions \u200dto Jupiter, Saturn,\u2062 and other \u2064planets in our\u2062 solar \u2064system, as \u2062well as for \u200dpowering a lunar base.\u200c &#8220;The technical capabilities, including early safety protocols, remain viable today,&#8221; stated Tabitha Dodson, the\u200d project \u200dmanager for DRACO,\u2064 during a news briefing.<\/p>\n<h3>Flight Test and Safety Measures<\/h3>\n<p>The \u2064DRACO project\u2063 will culminate in a\u2063 flight \u200btest, currently scheduled for late\u200b 2025 or early 2026, \u2062according to\u200d Kirk Shireman, \u200cvice president of Lockheed Martin. The test is expected to reach an altitude between\u2063 435\u200b miles and 1,240 miles, ensuring that it remains in orbit for over 300 years. This extended \u200bduration is necessary for the radioactive elements in the reactor fuel to decay to safe levels. To minimize the\u2063 risk of a radioactive incident on Earth, the reactor will\u200c only be activated once it reaches space.<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;DRACO\u2062 has already conducted comprehensive preliminary analyses for \u200call potential accidents, and we have\u2063 found that the probability of any release is extremely low,&#8221;\u2064 assured Dodson.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Click \u200dhere to read \u200bmore from The \u200dWashington Examiner.<\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>The United States is looking to make history and launch the first nuclear-powered rocket engine into space in as soon as four years. NASA announced on Wednesday that the agency and the Department of Defense are partnering on a $499 million project called the Demonstration Rocket for Agile Cislunar Operations (DRACO) to develop and launch<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":1984218,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mo_disable_npp":"","fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/cndimages.nyc3.digitaloceanspaces.com\/breaking-news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/IMG_2758-scaled-1.jpg","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[538],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1984217","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-washington-examiner"],"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/cndimages.nyc3.digitaloceanspaces.com\/breaking-news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/IMG_2758-scaled-1.jpg","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1984217","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1984217"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1984217\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/1984218"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1984217"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1984217"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1984217"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}