"US Set to Revive Space Nuclear Reactor Program After 60-Year Hiatus"

The US Air Force Research Laboratory is funding a project to design and develop a nuclear spacecraft, marking the first time since the 1960s that a nuclear reactor will be launched into space. The spacecraft, part of the Joint Emergent Technology Supplying On-Orbit Nuclear (JETSON) High Power program, aims to provide a more efficient and powerful energy source for deep space missions and potentially crewed missions to Mars. The spacecraft will use a fission reactor to generate heat, which will then be converted into electricity by Stirling engines, providing up to four times the power of conventional solar arrays. The project is currently in the preliminary design review stage.