DARPA and NASA are advancing toward the goal of the world’s first in-orbit demonstration of a nuclear thermal rocket (NTR) engine via DRACO, the Demonstration Rocket for Agile Cislunar Operations.

An illustration of a rocket with a blue flame blasting out of Earth's atmosphere The U.S. plans to launch the world's first nuclear-powered spacecraft into orbit as early as 2025, NASA and the Defense ...

The USA's Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency has finalised an agreement with Lockheed Martin to begin work on the fabrication and design of an experimental nuclear thermal rocket and its engine ...

The Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency has taken on NASA as a partner for a project aimed at demonstrating a nuclear-powered rocket that could someday send astronauts to Mars. DARPA had already ...

The Pentagon has awarded Blue Origin, Jeff Bezos' aerospace company, a $2.5 million contract. Blue Origin will design concepts for a nuclear-powered spacecraft. It won a contract for the craft ...

In a groundbreaking collaboration, NASA and the Defence Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) have joined forces with aerospace giant Lockheed Martin to accelerate space exploration with the ...

Deep space is a hostile environment for humans, which makes the long journey to Mars a serious stumbling block for manned missions. A nuclear-powered rocket could slash the journey time, and NASA has ...

A coated particle fuel for nuclear thermal propulsion applications, fabricated by TRISO-X LLC, has undergone testing in extreme conditions representing those experienced in space. An artists' concept ...