- The first commercial satellite carrying a nuclear-powered payload, City Labs' BOHR satellite, successfully launched into space aboard a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket from Vandenberg Space Force Base in California.
- This historic launch aims to prove the feasibility of using nuclear power for commercial space missions, especially for deep space exploration and operations in permanently shadowed regions like the Moon's dark side.
- The BOHR cubesat generates electricity by converting beta particles emitted from the radioactive decay of tritium, providing persistent, always-on payload operations unconstrained by sunlight or battery life.
- City Labs CEO Peter Cabauy highlighted this as a significant step for commercial nuclear power in space, enabling the routine deployment of safe, compact, and regulatory-approved systems.
- This technology, previously confined to state-funded scientific and military applications, has been utilized by NASA for long-duration missions such as the Voyager probes and Mars rovers.
IN FULL
‘Historic step’ as SpaceX launches first ever nuclear-powered commercial satellite
