- The Trump administration ordered the Pentagon to study tiny nuclear reactors for overseas bases and outer space.
- The reactors would be used to keep bases abroad if the local energy grid goes down.
- Such a reactor would also be essential for long-duration spaceflight.
President Donald Trump's administration has ordered the Department of Defense (DoD) to study the development of tiny nuclear reactors that could keep remote bases or even military spacecraft running. The reactors could power bases abroad, spacecraft or bases in space, or even a military base in the continental United States that's been devastated by a natural disaster.
Trump recently signed an executive order to promote the development and facilitate the use of nuclear power for national defense and space flight, per Defense News. The executive order says the DoD uses “10 million gallons of fuel per day and 30,000 gigawatt-hours of electricity per year,” or approximately the amount of energy (in gigawatt-hours) the state of West Virginia uses in a day. The urgent nature of the DoD’s mission makes steady, reliable energy a national security priority.
The development of small modular reactors “will help maintain and advance United States dominance and strategic leadership across the space and terrestrial domains,” the order says. The Trump administration envisions a modular reactor capable of generating 300 megawatts, as well as a “micro-reactor” that can generate less than 10 megawatts. According to the Nuclear Regulatory Commission, a megawatt can power up to 900 homes in the Northeast or 460 homes in the South.
The goal is to have portable nuclear reactors that can power U.S. military bases abroad. Rather than rely on local power grids, U.S. forces could simply ship an air-portable reactor to the base, boot it up, and turn the lights on. Such a reactor could also be used to power a base devastated by natural disaster, like the flooding that recently damaged Offutt Air Force Base in Nebraska, the hurricane that smashed Tyndall Air Force Base in Florida, or the earthquake that caused billions in damage at the remote China Lake Naval Base in California.
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The order directs the Pentagon to “determine whether advanced nuclear reactors can be made to benefit the [DoD's] future space power needs” and pilot a micro-reactor for space travel.
The directive also instructs NASA to look into possible uses of nuclear power, saying, “nuclear reactors up to 100 kilowatts may be needed to support human habitats, ISRU, other facilities, and rovers on both the moon and Mars.”