NASA and the US Department of Defense, DARPA, plan to launch a nuclear rocket into orbit by the beginning of 2026.
This is reported by European Pravda with reference to Space.
The project called “DRACO” involves testing a nuclear heat engine in space. This potentially revolutionary technology could help humanity explore Mars and other distant worlds.
The US Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) is understood to have launched the program in 2021, with NASA joining in early 2023. Therefore, the project is not new.
The Lockheed Martin company will work on the development and construction of the spacecraft.
“We’re going to bring together a lot of great data. We believe we’re going to usher in a new era for the United States and for humanity,” said Kirk Shireman, vice president of Lockheed Martin Lunar Exploration Campaigns.
According to Scheirman, the project is planned to be launched in late 2025 or early 2026, because the goal is to send astronauts to the Red Planet by the late 2030s or early 2040s.
