Company - Ultra Safe Nuclear Corporation (USNC)
Product/Service - Pylon
- Classification
- Space Utilities
- Category
- Resources - Energy
Nuclear Fission Power
Commercial Rover
Orbital Transportation
- Fields
- Nuclear Fission Power
Nuclear Power
Transport Service (In-Space)
- Status
- Development
- First launch
- Not announced
The Pylon is a 4500 kg 125-150 kWe radiatively-cooled gas-cooled micro-modular reactor (MMR).
10-TON CLASS MICRO REACTOR - Configurable for Earth and Space
Pylon builds on the expertise of Ultra Safe's MMR and FCM Fuel technologies. The Pylon architecture is a commercially viable fission power system designed for safely generating electrical and thermal power anywhere. Compared to MMR, Pylon is a lower mass system that is more easily transportable to off-grid locations and space.
USNC Awarded $5M NASA Nuclear Propulsion Contract, 2023-10-17
- Ultra Safe Nuclear Corporation (USNC), a leader in nuclear energy innovation, is pleased to announce that it has been awarded a contract by NASA to develop and mature Nuclear Thermal Propulsion (NTP) systems for the advancement of America’s civil science and cislunar capabilities.
- This contract, which will see NTP move from the paper phase into hardware, is a testament to USNC’s capabilities on the leading edge of advanced reactor design and manufacturing.
- Under this contract, USNC will manufacture and test advanced, proprietary fuel the company has developed through significant internal research and development efforts. Simultaneously, the company will collaborate with its commercial partner, Blue Origin, to mature the design of an NTP engine specifically optimized for near-term civil science and cislunar missions.
- Building off its recent delivery of nuclear fuel particles to NASA’s Space Nuclear Propulsion (SNP) program, this contract will see USNC manufacture fuel assemblies for testing in prototypic conditions.
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