Pentagon Preps Nuclear Moon Rocket

"The Pentagon wants to extend the reach of its satellites tens of thousands
miles toward the moon. And it’s working on a high-tech, atomic-powered “nuclear
thermal propulsion� engine to make it possible.

The military’s goal is to deploy maneuverable satellites into the vast space
between the Earth and the moon—“cislunar� space, it’s called—before China gets
there with its own spacecraft.

But this isn’t the first time the U.S. government has tried to develop an atomic
rocket. And there’s no guarantee the same problems that ended previous efforts
won’t also scuttle this one.

“The capability afforded by [nuclear thermal propulsion] will expand the
operating presence of the U.S. in space to the cislunar volume and enhance
domestic operations to a new high-ground, which is in danger of being defined by
the adversary,� the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency, which oversees
the atomic rocket effort, explained in its budget proposal.

The U.S. and Chinese space agencies and even private corporations are eager to
mine the moon for minerals that could support deep-space missions, potentially
including humanity’s first trip to Mars.

“An agile nuclear thermal propulsion vehicle enables the [Defense Department] to
maintain space domain awareness of the burgeoning activity within this vast
volume,� Jared Adams, a DARPA spokesperson, told The Daily Beast.

DARPA’s budget request for 2021, which the agency released in early February,
asks for $21 million for the “Demonstration Rocket for Agile Cislunar
Operations� program, or DRACO."

See:

https://www.thedailybeast.com/pentag...cislunar-space