Intuitive Machines Wins AFRL Contract Extension for In-Space Nuclear Power Development

Milivox analysis: The U.S. Air Force Research Laboratory (AFRL) has extended its contract with Intuitive Machines to advance in-space nuclear power systems—a critical enabler for sustained operations in cislunar space and beyond. This move underscores growing military interest in resilient energy architectures for contested orbital domains.

Background

Intuitive Machines, a Houston-based aerospace firm best known for its lunar landers under NASA’s Commercial Lunar Payload Services (CLPS) program, announced it has secured a contract extension from the AFRL to continue development of nuclear-powered energy systems for space applications. The effort falls under the Joint Emergent Technology Supplying On-Orbit Nuclear (JETSON) program—a lesser-known but strategically significant initiative aimed at enabling persistent operations in cislunar space through compact fission-based power generation.

The original JETSON contract was awarded in 2021 as part of a broader Department of Defense (DoD) push to explore dual-use technologies that support both civil and military objectives beyond Earth orbit. While NASA’s focus has centered on surface-based fission systems like those under the Fission Surface Power project with partners such as Battelle and BWXT, AFRL’s approach prioritizes orbital applications—such as powering satellites or refueling depots operating far from solar-rich environments.

Technical Overview

The current phase of the JETSON program focuses on maturing key subsystems required for a flight-ready orbital nuclear reactor. According to public disclosures and industry sources reviewed by Milivox, this includes:

• Thermal-to-electric conversion modules, likely based on Stirling or Brayton cycle engines optimized for zero-gravity environments;
• Radiation shielding architectures that balance mass constraints with crewed/uncrewed mission safety;
• Autonomous thermal management systems, essential for regulating core temperatures without human intervention;
• Launch containment protocols, addressing regulatory hurdles around launching fissile material into orbit.

This effort is distinct from NASA’s Kilopower project—which targets surface operations on the Moon or Mars—by focusing instead on mobile or station-keeping platforms in orbit. The system under development is expected to produce between 10–40 kWe (kilowatts electric), sufficient to support high-throughput communications relays, electric propulsion platforms, or persistent ISR payloads operating in shadowed regions or during long-duration eclipses.

Operational or Strategic Context

The strategic rationale behind AFRL’s investment lies in enabling U.S. freedom of action across the increasingly contested cislunar domain—the volume of space between Earth and the Moon. As China accelerates its own lunar exploration plans via the China National Space Administration (CNSA) and dual-use capabilities like Queqiao-2 relay satellites, U.S. defense planners are seeking energy solutions that are not dependent on solar exposure or proximity to Earth.

According to Milivox experts, nuclear-powered assets could provide persistent surveillance over lunar approaches, support logistics hubs at Lagrange points (e.g., EML1/EML2), and power future anti-satellite (ASAT) warning systems positioned beyond geostationary orbit. These capabilities align with recent doctrinal shifts visible in U.S. Space Force planning documents emphasizing “space domain awareness” and “space superiority” beyond GEO.

Civil-Military Convergence

The JETSON program exemplifies growing convergence between civil exploration goals and national security imperatives. While NASA remains focused on Artemis missions and surface infrastructure like Gateway and lunar habitats, DoD stakeholders are increasingly concerned with ensuring uninterrupted access to deep-space terrain where traditional satellite architectures may falter due to distance or solar intermittency.

Market or Industry Impact

This contract extension positions Intuitive Machines as one of a handful of commercial players actively developing fission-based power systems for orbital use—a niche but potentially transformative market segment within NewSpace industrialization trends.

• Competitive Landscape: Other firms pursuing similar technologies include Westinghouse Electric Company (via DOE funding), Ultra Safe Nuclear Corporation (USNC), Lockheed Martin (in partnership with BWXT), and X-Energy—all targeting either terrestrial microreactors or planetary surface applications.
• Differentiation: Intuitive Machines’ advantage may lie in its vertically integrated lunar delivery ecosystem—combining landers, comms relays (Nova-C series), and now potential onboard nuclear energy modules into cohesive mission packages.
• Dual-Use Potential: Beyond defense applications, such reactors could support commercial mining ventures on asteroids or polar lunar regions where sunlight is scarce but resource prospects are high.

A Regulatory Bottleneck?

A key challenge remains regulatory approval from agencies such as the Department of Energy’s Office of Nuclear Energy and launch licensing bodies like FAA/AST. Previous efforts—such as NASA’s SNAP-10A reactor launched in the 1960s—faced significant political resistance despite technical success. However, recent National Security Presidential Memorandum-20 (NSPM-20) streamlines some processes related to launching nuclear payloads under certain conditions.

Milivox Commentary

This contract extension reflects a quiet but consequential shift toward militarized infrastructure beyond low Earth orbit—where energy resilience may prove more decisive than propulsion speed or sensor range alone. As assessed by Milivox analysts, AFRL’s bet on fission-based orbital power aligns with broader Pentagon concerns about survivability in degraded space environments where solar panels may be jammed by debris clouds or denied by adversary action.

If successful, Intuitive Machines’ work under JETSON could seed a new class of autonomous “power-forward” nodes capable of supporting distributed satellite constellations far from Earth—a concept analogous to forward operating bases in terrestrial doctrine but translated into orbital logistics architecture.