The Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) announced July 26 that BWX Technologies has been selected to supply the nuclear reactor and fuel for the agency's Demonstration Rocket for Agile Cislunar Operations (DRACO) program-the goal of which is to demonstrate a nuclear thermal propulsion (NTP) rocket engine in orbit in 2027. Working as part of a team of contractors headed by Lockheed Martin, BWXT Advanced Technologies (a BWXT subsidiary) will complete the final design of the reactor, manufacture its hardware and fuel, assemble the components, and deliver the fueled unit as a complete subsystem for integration with the DRACO rocket engine and its in-space test stand.
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