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Commercial Spaceflight Just Entered the Nuclear Age
Gizmodo • • science
Key Points:
- City Labs launched the BOHR satellite, the first commercial nuclear-powered satellite, on SpaceX’s Transporter-17 mission to test its NanoTritium betavoltaic technology in orbit, aiming to provide continuous power independent of sunlight.
- The NanoTritium system uses tritium decay to generate low-level electrical power, offering a long-duration, reliable energy source that doesn't degrade like traditional batteries, making it suitable for persistent satellite operations.
- Although BOHR still relies on solar power for general functions, the NanoTritium system powers a payload demonstration to validate its capability to sustain instruments without sunlight.
- This mission is the first commercial nuclear spaceflight to receive FAA launch approval, setting a regulatory precedent for future commercial nuclear-powered spacecraft deployments.
- City Labs envisions extending this technology beyond low Earth orbit to power spacecraft and infrastructure in environments where solar energy is unavailable, such as the Moon’s shadowed regions, supporting future deep-space exploration.
