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Miami-based City Labs achieves a first for commercial nuclear power in space
arstechnica.
The possibility of using nuclear power in space has moved from science fiction to reality. On Tuesday, a satellite developed by a Florida-based company specialized in nuclear micro-power technology was launched into orbit. This event marks a significant milestone for the commercial space industry, demonstrating that nuclear energy can be safely integrated into smaller spacecraft.
This launch is not the final goal of placing a full-scale nuclear reactor in space. That breakthrough would eventually allow for the establishment of a permanent base on the Moon and enable rockets to travel efficiently throughout the entire Solar System. However, achieving large-scale power requires starting with smaller, manageable steps. The recent mission serves as a critical proving ground for these future ambitions.
The satellite is named BOHR, an acronym for Betavoltaic Orbital High-Reliability. It launched on a SpaceX rideshare mission alongside eighty other payloads. SpaceX’s Falcon 9 rocket deployed the BOHR satellite into a low Earth orbit. This orbit sits at an altitude between 350 and 400 miles, which is nearly 600 kilometers above the Earth’s surface. The deployment was a routine but historically significant moment for space technology.
City Labs, the Miami-based company behind the project, describes the BOHR mission as the world’s first commercial nuclear-powered satellite. It is also the first nuclear CubeSat. CubeSats are small, standardized spacecraft that are modest in scale. Images released by City Labs indicate that BOHR is built on a “1U” CubeSat platform. This design is cubical and measures approximately the same size as a softball.
The power source for BOHR is a nuclear betavoltaic battery. This device generates electricity through the natural decay of tritium. Tritium is a radioactive isotope of hydrogen. The company plans to use its experimental NanoTritium power generator in demonstration mode to supply electricity to a specific payload onboard the CubeSat. The spacecraft itself relies on conventional solar panels for its regular operations. This hybrid approach allows the satellite to test nuclear technology while maintaining standard power sources for primary functions.