NASA fast-tracks nuclear-powered spaceship, aims for interplanetary travel

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WATCH: NASA fast-tracks nuclear-powered spaceship, aims for 
interplanetary travel in 2028

By John T. Seward - The Washington Times - Wednesday, April 15, 2026
COLORADO SPRINGS, Colorado — The U.S. is developing a nuclear-powered 
spaceship designed by technology critical to deep-space exploration and 
national security, NASA Administrator Jared Isaacman told The Washington 
Times in an exclusive interview this week.

Speaking to The Times at the Space Symposium 2026 conference, Mr. 
Isaacman presented nuclear power and propulsion not as options but as 
necessities for America to dominate the 21st-century space race. Those 
technologies are critical to establishing a permanent base on the moon 
and to possible human travel to Mars, he said.

The current focus is the Space Reactor-1 Freedom program, a nuclear 
electric propulsion spacecraft that Mr. Isaacman described as 
“interplanetary.” A fission reactor powering electric thrusters would 
enable travel well beyond the moon and help future astronauts begin a 
history-making journey to Mars.

“We’re going to get underway in 2028 with SR-1 Freedom,” Mr. Isaacman 
said. “The first-of-its-kind nuclear-powered interplanetary spacecraft.”

The 2028 timeline calls for launching the SR-1 Freedom to Mars with a 
full payload of what NASA describes as “mass transport in deep space,” 
pushing even farther into our solar system, beyond Jupiter.

“Solar power is 4% [effective] as you go past Jupiter,” Mr. Isaacman 
said. “You’re going to need nuclear power.”

The Trump administration is leveraging that spacecraft to “set 
regulatory and launch precedent” and “activate the industrial base for 
future fission power systems” that could be used in multiple 
applications, NASA’s website says. Those developments will require 
continued partnerships with the Department of Energy and the Department 
of Defense, unofficially called the Department of War.

It isn’t the first time the U.S. has considered nuclear power in space. 
The NERVA program, Nuclear Engine for Rocket Vehicle Applications, was 
designed and tested in the 1960s.

“We haven’t dusted that thing off in probably almost 60 years at this 
point in time,” Mr. Isaacman said.

The SR-1Freedom intends to return to that NASA lineage, with some help 
from technological developments by the Energy Department and the U.S. 
military.

Earlier this year, the Pentagon began testing a next-generation mobile 
nuclear reactor that it airlifted from California to a facility in Utah, 
marking a key step forward for the military’s use of mobile nuclear power.

Energy Secretary Chris Wright and Undersecretary of Defense Michael 
Duffey hailed the trip aboard a C-17 military aircraft as a breakthrough 
for U.S. efforts to fast-track the commercialization of microreactors, 
part of a whole-of-government push to support a new energy landscape.

“For the Department of War to deploy transportable nuclear 
microreactors, many logistics scenarios need to be tested through 
demonstrations like these to develop a robust understanding of the 
challenges involved,” Mr. Duffey said of the test earlier this year.

The U.S. Army is fielding micronuclear reactors on nine military bases 
to provide energy independent from local power grids. Microreactor power 
plants represent a significant technological advancement as part of the 
Army’s Project Janus, a nod to the Roman god of transitions.

Those developments, Mr. Isaacman said, reflect a broader trend.

“Nuclear is OK again,” he told The Times.

The technology could enable deeper space missions by providing reliable 
propulsion and tested power generation systems once astronauts reach 
their destination.

The intent behind some of that development is to solve a future problem 
for NASA: making propellant on Mars to bring astronauts home.

“Terrestrial nuclear applications, small module reactors to meet the 
demand signal here on Earth, great. That’s getting people comfortable,” 
Mr. Isaacman said. “Being in this space again is helpful for us for the 
nuclear applications that we want in space.”

Nuclear technology is a top priority for the White House, alongside 
artificial intelligence and quantum computing, all of which have 
applications across multiple federal agencies. Mr. Isaacman credited 
Michael Kratsios, the director of the White House Office of Science and 
Technology Policy, for aligning the converging interests.

“It definitely takes the coordination of all parties involved,” said Mr. 
Isaacman, specifically thanking the Energy and Defense departments for 
aiding NASA’s mission.

The 2028 deadline now extends across several key initiatives. The Trump 
administration is effectively synchronizing the civilian and military 
development timelines.

NASA intends to launch SR-1 in 2028. Earlier this week, Mr. Kratsios 
announced a White House policy directing the Department of Energy, the 
Department of Defense and NASA to develop space nuclear power systems 
that could launch as soon as 2028. An executive order signed by Mr. 
Trump last year called for the operation of an Army-regulated nuclear 
reactor at a domestic military installation no later than September 2028.

“Lots of demand for terrestrial nuclear power,” Mr. Isaacman said. “Not 
so much in space yet, until we prove it out.”

• John T. Seward can be reached at [email protected].