LLAW’s “ALL THINGS NUCLEAR” #476 (12/10/2023)
”End Nuclear Insanity Before Nuclear Insanity Ends Humanity"
LLAW’s COMMENTARY TODAY:
It seems our government(s), in particular the U.S. government and military, aren’t satisfied with the probability of destroying the world with existing earth-bound nuclear weapons and nuclear power plants, but suddenly require them, and even nuclear powered space transportation.
So now our dear leaders want more ‘all things nuclear’ in orbit to ensure that we continue the nuclear insanity effort in space. And to make us auto-appreciative, but ignorant everyday folks feel like we’re wanted and needed as a financial contributor (disguised as an investor) and a necessary partner, we will be allowed to proudly invest in the ever-expanding genius-of-man-made construction of space-planes (for all kinds of travel) and missiles (for war), as well as for generating in-space power plants and lloyd knows what else to make you happier and more comfortable, kindly taking your hard-earned money to help champion the cost of building the final frontier of likely ongoing nuclear destruction. In the end, the Manhattan Project did no one any benefit nor future comfort from war - so why do we keep on believing in its value for anything of value or purpose?
Read on from an article by “The Motley Fool” posted in LLAW’s “ALL THINGS NUCLEAR” extracted from ”TODAY’S NUCLEAR WORLD’S NEWS relating to the latest about new uses for nuclear reactors and the things we humans want to do with them in space when we can’t control the ones we have right here on the ground. Insanity seems to build obsession and aggression, or maybe it’s the other way around. ~llaw
Once again, when the US government wants to put nuclear power plants in space, Lockheed is the company it calls for help. ~ from the Motley Fool
The U.S. military likes nuclear power -- and I mean, it really likes nuclear power.
Powered by highly enriched uranium nuclear reactors, U.S. Navy submarines and aircraft carriers can operate for as long as 30 years before needing to add fuel. This frees them from the need to have oil tankers tag along on missions for periodic refueling. It allows the submarines to operate underwater without the need to come up for air for the combustion of hydrocarbons. For that matter, not needing to burn hydrocarbons helps the military burnish its environmental credentials as a user of green energy.
Given all these advantages, therefore, it should perhaps come as no surprise that the Pentagon would also like to put nuclear power in its spaceships. The big surprise is that 65 years after America launched its first satellite, we're finally making progress toward building nuclear-powered spaceships.
Lockheed goes nuclear
Several months ago, if you recall, I wrote about the DRACO spaceship that NASA and DARPA -- the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency -- were building. For $499 million, Lockheed Martin would build a small craft to test nuclear-powered spaceflight in Earth orbit, and its partner BWX Technologies (BWXT -0.56%) would build a high-assay low-enriched uranium (HALEU) nuclear engine and provide the fuel to power it.
The DRACO project is expected to launch in late 2025 or early 2026 and begin testing in 2027. Before this project has even gotten off the ground, however, it turns out that Lockheed is already working on another nuclear spaceship project.
As SpaceNews reported last month, the U.S. Air Force Research Lab has hired Lockheed Martin, along with Intuitive Machines and Westinghouse Government Services, to design and build a different kind of space nuclear reactor to extend the lives of satellites in orbit.
Meet (George) JETSON
Dubbed the Joint Emergent Technology Supplying On-orbit Nuclear Power -- "JETSON" -- project, this is a relatively small bet on nuclear power's potential in space. In total, AFRL is doling out only $60 million -- $33.7 million for Lockheed, and a bit less than that split between Intuitive Machines and Westinghouse.
Intuitive Machines' role will be to design a spacecraft to house the JETSON reactor. Westinghouse will design and build a nuclear fission system (i.e., the power plant). Lockheed's role appears to be that of overall general contractor on the project, bringing Intuitive's and Westinghouse's contributions together, getting them ready for a "preliminary design review," and guiding the project all the way through "critical design review."
Which explains why the JETSON contract is so much smaller than the DRACO project earlier this year. Whereas DRACO involves the actual building and testing of a nuclear-powered spaceship, for the time being, all Lockheed Martin and its partners are being asked to do is prepare plans to build one.
Getting the band back together
Interestingly, this isn't the first time these three companies have worked together.
In June of last year, if you recall, NASA and the U.S. Department of Energy awarded a total of $15 million to these same three companies (plus a few other partners working with them) to draw up plans for a 40-kilowatt mini nuclear power plant. As the government explained at the time, that would be enough electricity to power about 30 average American homes...or one lunar outpost, once Project Artemis gets around to building one on the moon.
What it means to investors
Admittedly, $15 million, $60 million -- even $499 million -- all of these may seem like piddling sums to a defense contracting behemoth like Lockheed Martin, which pulled in nearly $66 billion in revenue last year, according to data from S&P Global Market Intelligence. The question may arise: Should even space investors give any attention to contracts this small?
I'd argue the answer is yes. Remember, even the $499 million DRACO construction contract began in 2021 with a trio of DARPA contracts valued at less than $28 million combined. Just two years later, as construction of DRACO begins, the contract size has swelled roughly 18 times that size. If the JETSON contract follows a similar course as it transitions from planning to construction, its value could easily eclipse $1 billion -- a material sum even for a giant like Lockheed.
And again, that's the price to build just one single spacecraft, and a small spacecraft at that. Assuming all goes well and nuclear propulsion proves a viable option for spacecraft, further contracts can be expected, generating even more money for Lockheed Martin.
This, I'd argue, is one segment of the space business that is worth keeping an eye on.
Should you invest $1,000 in BWX Technologies right now?
ABOUT THE FOLLOWING ACCESS TO “LLAW’S ALL THINGS NUCLEAR” RELATED MEDIA:
There are 5 categories (plus a bonus category at the end for news about the Yellowstone caldera and others that also play an important role in humanity’s lives) as do ‘all things nuclear’ for you to pick from, usually with up to 3 linked most important media stories in each category, but sometimes fewer and occasionally even none. The Categories are listed below in their usual appearing order:
All Things Nuclear
Nuclear Power
Nuclear War
Nuclear Power Emergencies
Nuclear War Threats
Yellowstone Caldera
Whenever there is an underlined link to a Category media news story, if you press or click on the link provided, you no longer have to cut and paste to your web browser, since this Post’s link will take you directly to the article in your browser.
A current Digest of major nuclear media headlines with automated links is listed below by nuclear Category (per above). There are no Yellowstone Caldera bonus stories available in this Post. If a category heading does not appear, it means there was no news reported from this category today.
(Just a reminder: When linked, the access to the media story will be underlined. If there is no link to a media story of interest you can still copy and paste the headline and lead line into your browser to find the article you are seeking. Hopefully this will never happen.)
TODAY’S NUCLEAR WORLD’S NEWS (12/10/2023) :
All Things Nuclear
NEWS
A new book asks if AI can cause the kinds of nuclear disasters seen in movies | 90.5 WESA
90.5 WESA
... nuclear strategy is about the practical application of coercive bargaining strategies. And Thomas Schelling has all these wonderful examples of ...
A Gigantic New ICBM Will Take US Nuclear Missiles Out of the Cold War-Era but Add 21st ...
U.S. News & World Report
Now everything is getting modernized at once. The Sentinel work is one leg of a larger, nuclear weapons enterprise-wide $750 billion overhaul that is ...
A new book asks if AI can cause the kinds of nuclear disasters seen in movies - WUWM
WUWM
Good Things Brewing · Live at Lake Effect · Milwaukee Music Roundup · Monthly ... He has reported from all fifty states, five continents, and ten wars ...
Nuclear Power
NEWS
Lockheed Takes the Lead in the Race for a Nuclear Spaceship | The Motley Fool
The Motley Fool
Once again, when the US government wants to put nuclear power plants in space, Lockheed is the company it calls for help.
The future of nuclear energy will be decided in Idaho | National - The Lawton Constitution
The Lawton Constitution
Research groups, including the International Energy Agency, have called for an aggressive expansion of carbon-free nuclear technology to help rein in ...
Coalition tells Cop28 it will back tripling of nuclear energy if Peter Dutton becomes prime minister
The Guardian
Ted O'Brien declares global climate summit 'the nuclear Cop' despite only 11% of nations backing the pledge.
Nuclear War
NEWS
A gigantic new ICBM will take US nuclear missiles out of the Cold War-era but add 21st-century risks
AP News
A new nuclear missile is coming, a gigantic ICBM called the Sentinel. It marks the largest cultural shift in 60 years in the land leg of the Air ...
A new book asks if AI can cause the kinds of nuclear disasters seen in movies - NPR
NPR
His new book is "Deterrence Under Uncertainty: Artificial Intelligence And Nuclear Warfare." And Edward Geist, a policy researcher at the Rand ...
How would YOUR city fare in a nuclear attack? These are the 15 biggest US targets for ...
Daily Mail
The world is on edge over fears of a nuclear war, but America would likely be a prime target if bombs were dropped.
Nuclear War Threats
NEWS
India To Raise 1st Squadron Of LCA Tejas Mark 1A Near Pakistan Border Amid Rising ...
EurAsian Times
India To Raise 1st Squadron Of LCA Tejas Mark 1A Near Pakistan Border Amid Rising “Nuclear Threats” ... war experts, is the first in South Asia to have ...
Time for a Transnational Uprising Against a Reckless Escalation of the Arms Race?
ScheerPost
His threats to use nuclear weapons said the usually untrumpeted ... How do you address a ” transnational uprising ” to the threat of nuclear war ...