“We’re going to fly this demonstration, gather a bunch of great data and really, we believe, usher in a new age for the United States [and] for humankind, to support our space exploration mission,” announced Kirk Shireman, vice president of Lockheed Martin Lunar Exploration Campaigns, regarding the ambitious DRACO project, an in-space test for nuclear thermal propulsion (NTP). The demonstration rocket for agile cislunar operations (DRACO), a joint venture between NASA and the U.S. military, is slated for a launch in late 2025 or early 2026, with the spacecraft being developed by Lockheed Martin. NASA’s involvement in NTP technology can … Continue reading The DRACO Project and a New Dawn for Nuclear Propulsion in Space Exploration