Nuclear Propulsion in Space Exploration

Quick PSA: This is our final Pathfinder episode of 2024! We’re so grateful for your support and can’t wait to bring you more content and a new format next year. Stay tuned!

In our third and final episode of our special three-part Pathfinder series on lunar architecture—brought to you by our partners at Lockheed Martin—we’re focusing on how nuclear-enabled technologies will power and propel a sustainable future on the Moon. This episode ties together the insights from the series and offers a vision of how energy systems will enable humans to survive on the lunar surface and venture deeper into the solar system.

Joining us are Kerry Timmons, Senior Manager of Business Development at Lockheed Martin for Lunar Infrastructure, and Joe Miller, President of BWXT Advanced Technologies. Together, they share their perspective on the role nuclear power and propulsion play in supporting a long-term presence on the Moon.

We also discuss:

• How nuclear technologies provide reliable power during the lunar night and beyond
• The engineering challenges and solutions for deploying nuclear systems
• The interplay between nuclear and solar energy in a resilient lunar grid
• Applications for nuclear thermal propulsion
• The collaborative efforts required across government, industry, and international partners to make this a reality

And much, much more…

• Chapters •

00:00:00 - Intro

00:01:05 - Joe's background

00:02:47 - Kerry's background

00:04:19 - Vision for a thriving lunar infrastructure

00:07:13 - Nuclear and space

00:08:48 - Lockheed's history with nuclear

00:10:23 - Lessons from history that make current power systems in space more efficient

00:13:00 - Nuclear's importance for a sustained lunar presence

00:16:09 - Engineering challenges

00:18:54 - How does mass play a role in the design of the nuclear reactor?

00:20:24 - What will these reactors power?

00:22:04 - Regulation & safety

00:25:22 - Space Policy Directive – 6

00:27:03 - International alignment

00:30:24 - Propulsion

00:34:30 - Chemical vs. nuclear propulsion

00:38:53 - When will nuclear systems be ready for use?

00:40:06 - Economic reason for using nuclear propulsion

00:43:34 - Terrestrial application for nuclear

00:44:40 - Startup capabilities that Lockheed is interested in

00:47:25 - What tech breakthrough would you prioritize for the Moon?

00:49:36 - Innovation predictions in the next 10 years
 

• Show notes •

Lockheed Martin’s website — https://www.lockheedmartin.com/en-us/capabilities/space/human-space-exploration/water-based-lunar-architecture/lockheed-martins-lunar-architecture-novella-white-paper.html

Lockheed Martin Space’ socials — https://twitter.com/LMSpace

Mo's socials — https://twitter.com/itsmoislam

Payload’s socials — https://twitter.com/payloadspace / https://www.linkedin.com/company/payloadspace

Pathfinder archive — Watch: https://www.youtube.com/@payloadspace

Pathfinder archive — Listen: https://pod.payloadspace.com/episodes
 

• About us •

Pathfinder is brought to you by Payload, a modern space media brand built from the ground up for a new age of space exploration and commercialization. We deliver need-to-know news and insights daily to 19,000+ commercial, civil, and military space leaders. Payload is read by decision-makers at every leading new space company, along with c-suite leaders at all of the aerospace & defense primes. We’re also read on Capitol Hill, in the Pentagon, and at space agencies around the world.

Payload began as a weekly email sent to a few friends and coworkers. Today, we’re a team distributed across four time zones and two continents, publishing five media properties across multiple platforms:

1) Payload, our flagship daily newsletter, sends M-F @ 9am Eastern

2) Pathfinder publishes weekly on Tuesday mornings (pod.payloadspace.com)

3) Polaris, our weekly policy briefing, publishes weekly on Tuesdays

4) Payload Research, our weekly research and analysis piece,  comes out on Wednesdays

You can sign up for all of our publications here: https://payloadspace.com/subscribe/