No one had ever launched a commercial nuclear satellite. SpaceX and City Labs just did it with Transporter-17
SpaceX has launched the first commercial nuclear satellite in history. This is BOHR, a CubeSat developed by the City Labs company, and has been completely successfully placed into orbit as part of the Transporter-17 mission, from Elon Musk’s space company. This is intended to demonstrate that the use of nuclear energy to power vehicles, satellites and space probes is not just a matter for large public agencies. Tritium to make history in space. Betavoltaic Orbital High-Reliability (BOHR) is a CubeSat in which a nuclear reaction similar to the one that has been used for decades takes place. to propel the Voyager probes through space. Although there is a difference. While these obtain energy from the heat generated by the disintegration of plutonium, in this case the beta particles released by the disintegration of tritium are used. Afterwards, these They are transformed into electricity through a semiconductor. The use of tritium is an advantage, as it emits much less radiation, making its pre-launch handling safer. Speaking of the launch. This nuclear satellite was one of the 81 payloads that were part of the Transporter-17 mission on July 7. A Falcon 9 rocket of SpaceX propelled all of them into space after launching from said company’s platform, located at the Vandenberg base. Just 50 minutes after launch, each of the payloads, including BOHR, were placed into their respective orbits. Two possible uses. The use of nuclear energy in space is something that has been studied a lot for two reasons. Firstly, because it can be useful for ships that are going to travel very far, so that they cannot carry enough fuel on board. It is precisely the reason why this energy source was used with Voyager probes. On the other hand, nuclear energy is useful when solar energy is not an option. The Voyager probes traveled a long way from the Sun, but you don’t have to go that far either. The lunar south pole It is constantly in shadow, so in the future, when the Artemis bases are built there, nuclear power could be very necessary. A project with many supports. The development of BOHR was funded under a contract from the United States Department of Defense. In addition, it is the first nuclear mission that has received nuclear launch approval from the Federal Aviation Administration, specifically under the Presidential National Security Memorandum 20 of Donald Trump. Therefore, despite being a private project, it has received all the public support necessary for its implementation. That, along with its inclusion within a SpaceX mission, shows that there are many powerful eyes on this project. It’s just a test. In fact, BOHR has been used to prove that this way of obtaining nuclear energy is viable in space and that it can be used commercially. Currently, the satellite is in orbit, ready to launch the test reaction. However, the CubeSat uses solar panels to obtain energy for its own operation. The next step could be a satellite that exclusively uses tritium decay. For now, this first proof of concept has marked what may be the future of many commercial space missions. Image | SpaceX In Xataka | NASA’s lunar base begins here and now: an investment of hundreds of millions and a date on the horizon