Lockheed Martin and BWX Technologies have been chosen by the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) and NASA to collaborate on the development of an innovative nuclear propulsion system. This system holds the potential to offer enhanced power for maneuvering spacecraft in orbit and for missions to Mars. Under the Demonstration Rocket for Agile Cislunar Operations (DRACO) initiative, Lockheed Martin is tasked with designing a spacecraft to accommodate an experimental nuclear reactor engine and fuel developed by BWX Technologies, headquartered in Virginia. The joint objective is to showcase the functionality of the nuclear thermal rocket engine while in orbit by the year 2027.

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