Leonard David's INSIDE OUTER SPACE

Artist’s concept of a Bimodal Nuclear Thermal Rocket in low Earth orbit.
Credit: NASA

The nuclear power sector is seeing resurgence in innovation, supported by new policies and emerging technologies.

BWX Technologies, Inc. (BWXT) is a major supplier of nuclear components and fuel to the U.S. government. As such, BWXT envisions a path forward in two of the U.S. government’s top priorities: space exploration and national security.

Compact nuclear reactor

BWXT is currently building a compact nuclear reactor for use by expeditionary crews on Mars and possibly even explore Jupiter’s moons by 2024.

Credit: LANL/NASA

Revolutions in nuclear reactors come at the optimal time as the great power competition evolves into space, according to BWXT.

Go to this story by Rathna Muralidharan — a program director at the Lexington Institute — with a focus on global security. Written for RealClearEnergy at:

https://www.realclearenergy.org/articles/2018/07/13/the_nuclear_reactor_renaissance_space_exploration_and_national_security_110313.html

For more information on BWXT go to their website at:

https://www.bwxt.com/what-we-do/nuclear-thermal-propulsion-ntp