DRACO: The first nuclear rocket to fly to space

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Nuclear rockets could be the future of space exploration. One of the biggest hurdles for the human colonization of Mars is the issue of astronaut health; the longer an astronaut spends in deep space, the more they will be exposed to harmful cosmic rays.

Nuclear rockets could be a game-changer therefore, as they have the potential to cut travel times in half. With NASA, DARPA, and Lockheed Martin’s DRACO project inching closer to launch, let’s take a look at some of the key innovations nuclear rockets could bring to the future of space travel.

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AEROSPACE ENGINEERING SPOTLIGHT

NASA, DARPA, Lockheed Martin working on DRACO nuclear rocket

Last year, NASA and DARPA awarded Lockheed Martin a $499 million contract to build the Demonstration Rocket for Agile Cislunar Operations (DRACO).

DRACO could go down in history as the first nuclear rocket to fly in space. The history of nuclear rocket research dates back to the 1950s. NASA’s NERVA project showed great promise in the 60s and 70s, though it was ultimately discontinued due to budget cutbacks imposed on the US space agency.

Now, NASA, DARPA, and Lockheed Martin aim to fly the DRACO nuclear rocket testbed by around 2027. 

DRACO will measure roughly 49 feet in length and 17.7 feet in diameter, allowing it to fit on one of the United Launch Alliance’s new Vulcan Centaur rockets. ULA’s Vulcan Centaur flew for the first time earlier this year, and the launch of DRACO will be one of its upcoming high-profile missions.

One of the key design innovations DRACO will employ is the use of a new type of fuel called high-assay-low-enriched uranium (HALEU). HALEU is made by blending highly enriched uranium to a lower enrichment percentage of roughly 20 percent. 

Prior to the DRACO project, older nuclear rocket programs relied on highly enriched weapons-grade uranium. If a rocket had exploded at launch, it would have sprayed this dangerous material over vast areas.

But why make a nuclear rocket now? According to a recent Ars Technica report, the US military sees nuclear rockets as a key component in the space race. The US is working hard to stay ahead of China, whose space administration is innovating at a rapid pace.

Nuclear rockets also have the potential to vastly cut travel times to Mars and other parts of the solar system. This would be crucial for future space exploration, as astronauts would be exposed to less harmful cosmic radiation. 

DRACO could more than halve the time it takes to reach Mars. According to NASA’s estimates, using existing technologies, it would take around 6-7 months to reach Mars. DRACO’s technology could take around 3 months, while other companies have claimed their nuclear engines could send a spacecraft to the Red Planet in just over a month.

AERO BULLETIN

Three of the most high-profile nuclear rocket engines

There are two main types of nuclear propulsion for space—nuclear thermal and nuclear electric. 

Nuclear thermal propulsion uses the thermal energy generated by nuclear fission in a nuclear reactor. This rapidly heats a liquid propellant, such as liquefied hydrogen, which then expands to a gas and is expelled through the rocket nozzle.

Nuclear electric propulsion, meanwhile, uses thermal energy to generate electricity. This is used to ionize an inert gas propellant, which is then accelerated out of the thruster by an electromagnetic field. 

Here are a few examples of both nuclear thermal and nuclear electric engines that have been in development throughout the years.

NERVA’s XE Prime

NASA’s Nuclear Engine for Rocket Vehicle Applications (NERVA) program built several engines over almost two decades. The last of these was the XE Prime, which reached tech readiness level (TRL) 6. One more level would have meant testing the engine in space.

The XE Prime was a nuclear thermal engine. Though it showed great potential, it also had issues during development, including fuel cracking and shedding—hydrogen corrosion due to the extremely high temperatures. 

Ultimately, the NERVA program was canceled when NASA decided to focus more on low Earth orbit and the Space Shuttle program.

VASIMR

The Ad Astra rocket company was founded by former NASA astronaut Franklin Chang Díaz. It is developing a nuclear electric engine called VASIMR. The company claims its engine could one day send a spacecraft to Mars in as little as 45 days. 

However, in a 2023 interview with IE, Chang Díaz said funding was a stumbling block. Though the engine is on the verge of technology readiness level 6, Ad Astra needs roughly $200 million to test its engine in space.

DRACO engine 

In 2020, DARPA said it wanted a real working nuclear rocket in space. It wanted to avoid a long, costly experimental process on Earth, as was the case with NERVA. Instead, it would learn from NERVA and go a step further by actually flying a nuclear spacecraft in space.

Two years later, the preliminary design phase was completed. Now, Lockheed Martin is working on the design, and it aims to launch a rocket using the new engine by 2027. The DRACO project is developing a special coating to address problems like shedding that hindered NERVA.