Lockheed Martin has been awarded a contract by the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) to develop and demonstrate a nuclear-powered spacecraft known as Demonstration Rocket for Agile Cislunar Operations (DRACO). This project, which is being conducted in partnership with NASA's Space Technology Mission Directorate, will represent a major advancement in propulsion technology. The in-space flight demonstration of the nuclear thermal rocket engine vehicle is scheduled to take place no later than 2027.
