Selected NASA narrative partners will gain access to NASA programs, including Artemis, the Draco nuclear propulsion project with Lockheed Martin, and the SR-1 Freedom reactor mission with Skyfall.
Eileen has 3D-printed TPU wheels and a six-degree-of-freedom arm.
NASA did not include the lunar base or SR-1 Freedom nuclear propulsion demonstration in its fiscal year 2027 budget proposal.
Space Systems Command’s mission is to deliver resilient and affordable space systems that enhance U.S. warfighting capability and maintain freedom of action in space.
SR-1 Freedom combines a closed Brayton cycle fission reactor with the Power and Propulsion Element previously built for the canceled Lunar Gateway space station.
SR-1 Freedom is intended to go to Mars orbit.
SR-1 Freedom’s payload is Skyfall, a suite of Ingenuity-class helicopters designed to operate on the Martian surface.
NASA’s Space Reactor One, also called SR-1 Freedom, is targeted to launch in December 2028.
SR-1 Freedom will be fueled by high-assay low-enriched uranium, or HALEU.
SR-1 Freedom will use ion thrusters for propulsion.
SR-1 Freedom’s reactor is designed to generate more than 20 kilowatts of electrical power.
NASA plans a December 2028 launch window for SR-1 Freedom.
SR-1 Freedom will use high-assay low-enriched uranium fuel encased in a boron carbide radiation shield.
SR-1 Freedom will use the Power and Propulsion Element’s ion thrusters to turn reactor-generated electricity into propulsion.
SR-1 Freedom is planned to launch in December 2028, start up the reactor within 48 hours of launch, and thrust for approximately one year to reach Mars orbit.
SR-1 Freedom is intended to be the first spacecraft to use fission-generated electricity for interplanetary propulsion.
SR-1 Freedom is intended to deploy the Skyfall payload of Ingenuity-class helicopters.
NASA’s SR-1 Freedom program includes an explicit Department of Energy partnership.
As of April 16, 2026, NASA had not named a prime integrator for SR-1 Freedom’s reactor system.
NASA announced Space Reactor-1 (SR-1) Freedom on March 23, 2026 as a government-financed first article for the nuclear space industrial base.