Westinghouse Electric Company announced that NASA, working with the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE), has selected Westinghouse to continue development of a space microreactor design through the Fission Surface Power (FSP) project.
The FSP project is focused on developing concept designs for small, electricity-generating nuclear fission reactors that could provide astronauts a reliable power supply for use on the moon and beyond. This contract, awarded by Idaho National Laboratory (INL), will build on the successful design work Westinghouse completed during Phase 1 to optimize its contributions to the design of FSP systems and their configuration, and begin testing of critical technology elements. The continued progress under the FSP project can enable NASA’s goal of a lunar demonstration within the next decade.
“Westinghouse appreciates the opportunity to continue demonstrating its leadership in designing microreactors for space and lunar exploration missions,” said Richard Rademacher, President, Westinghouse Government Services. “This award reflects our close collaboration with NASA and the progress we’ve made on the FSP program that will enable a strategic capability for the Artemis mission. We look forward to testing and demonstrating our proprietary microreactor technology in the coming years under this important NASA initiative.”
NASA’s FSP program expands on the efforts of the agency’s Kilopower project to develop affordable fission nuclear power technologies for long-duration stays on planetary surfaces. Currently, NASA is working with DOE to design a fission power system that would provide up to 40 kilowatts of power – enough to continuously run 30 households for 10 years. A future lunar demonstration will pave the way for sustainable operations and base camps on the Moon and Mars.
Westinghouse is leveraging its eVinciTM microreactor technology to develop a resilient and mass efficient nuclear electric power and propulsion system for satellite, spacecraft and planetary surface power applications.
