Episode
The Pentagon Is Building a Moon-Based Nuclear Reactor
- Published
- Jun 17, 2026
- Duration seconds
- 611
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Summary
The Pentagon's Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) is funding a project to build a nuclear fission reactor on the Moon by 2030 under the DRACO program. This episode explores why the Department of Defense needs lunar nuclear power — not for scientific exploration, but for energy-intensive military operations like persistent surveillance, surface mobility, and secure communication nodes. Lucas and Luna break down the technical challenges, the budget (around $100 million for the initial phase), and the contractors involved, including Lockheed Martin and BWX Technologies. They connect this to the recent surge in defense stocks — LMT up 2.1% and RTX up 5.3% in the past five days — and discuss how the push for space-based nuclear power signals a shift in military strategy toward a permanent off-world presence. #Pentagon #NuclearReactor #Moon #DARPA #DRACO #SpaceDefense #LunarEnergy #LockheedMartin #BWXTechnologies #FissionReactor #MilitaryTech #SpaceOperations #DefenseContractors #LMT #RTX #Business #Technology #FexingoBusiness Keep every episode free: buymeacoffee.com/fexingo