Space Nuclear Power Corporation announced Oct. 21 that it received a DARPA Other Transaction Agreement through the Fast Capacitance, or Fat Cat, program for advanced reactor-control development and ground testing. The work will include a follow-on nuclear ground test of a Kilopower reactor with active control rod operation.
What it means
SpaceNukes and Los Alamos National Laboratory will carry out the reactor test. The program includes design, procurement and integration gates before the ground demonstration. Marc Gibson will lead integration work at the company’s Medina, Ohio, workshop.
SpaceNukes holds a Los Alamos National Laboratory license for Kilopower technology. The company is headquartered in Los Alamos, New Mexico, and operates workshops in Los Alamos and Medina.
Key facts
- DARPA issued an Other Transaction Agreement under its Fat Cat program.
- Dr. Tabitha Dodson manages Fat Cat in DARPA’s Defense Sciences Office.
- The Kilopower reactor test will use active control rod operation.
- Marc Gibson, SpaceNukes’ chief engineer, will lead integration.
- Los Alamos National Laboratory and NASA participated in 2018 KRUSTY work.
- The 2018 KRUSTY effort included a full-power ground test.
Source: Space Nuclear Power Corporation news release (PR Newswire)