SpaceNukes wins DARPA deal to ground-test autonomous reactor controller
Space Nuclear Power Corporation · DARPA · Los Alamos National Laboratory
The Fat Cat award funds a follow-on Kilopower reactor test with active control rods, building on the 2018 KRUSTY demonstration.
what happened
DARPA awarded Space Nuclear Power Corporation (SpaceNukes) an Other Transaction Agreement under its Fast Capacitance (Fat Cat) program. SpaceNukes and Los Alamos National Laboratory will design, build, and ground-test a follow-on Kilopower reactor with active control rod operation, extending the passively controlled design demonstrated in the 2018 KRUSTY test. DARPA did not disclose a contract value.
why it matters
Autonomous, actively controlled reactor operation is a step space nuclear power needs before it can support crewed lunar or Mars missions and other power-hungry spacecraft without a ground operator in the loop. A DARPA-funded ground test keeps SpaceNukes, one of the few US companies with an actual fission ground-test record, ahead of rivals chasing the same market.
signal-to-noise
quick facts
- Companies
- Space Nuclear Power Corporation, DARPA, Los Alamos National Laboratory
- Category
- contract
- Impact
- notable
- SNR
- 4 / 5
- Event date
- 2026-10-21
- Published
- 2026-10-21 17:34 UTC