What simply happened? The Section of Defense's (DoD) Defence Innovation Unit (DIU) is asking private-sector companies to submit proposals for advanced nuclear propulsion technologies that could be used to power future DoD missions in space.

The DoD in its asking said existing electrical and solar-based propulsion systems are neither suitable for missions that will go beyond Earth orbit, nor are they uniform with the increasingly shrinking size of next-gen spacecraft. Every bit such, an avant-garde propulsion arrangement that enables high changes in velocity and electrical power to payloads, while also being fuel efficient, is a must.

It should come as little surprise that the United states of america regime and agencies like NASA are already working to develop fission-based propulsion and power systems. The DIU's DoD partners, however, would prefer to adopt mature commercial tech that tin be used in the near term.

In addition to the propulsion requirements, the DoD would also similar for submitted systems to be able to provide estrus to spacecraft systems (space can be a chilly identify) and be scalable down to under 4,409 pounds (dry mass), all while minimizing the amount of radiation given off.

The DIU said submitted proposals must prove credible manufacturing, regulatory and licensing paths that could outcome in the development of a prototype within iii to five years.

Interested parties are encouraged to fill out the submission grade on the DIU'south website to get the ball rolling. From at that place, they'll demand to submit a solution cursory that is five or fewer pages and slide decks consisting of fifteen or fewer slides. Responses are due past September 23, 2022.