# The Pentagon Is Building a Moon-Based Nuclear Reactor

Page: https://stenobird.com/podcast/the-defense-tech-podcast-with-fexingo-government-contracting-aerospace-and-military-tech-7871833/the-pentagon-is-building-a-moon-based-nuclear-reactor
Text version: https://stenobird.com/podcast/the-defense-tech-podcast-with-fexingo-government-contracting-aerospace-and-military-tech-7871833/the-pentagon-is-building-a-moon-based-nuclear-reactor.md
Podcast: [The Defense Tech Podcast with Fexingo: Government Contracting, Aerospace, and Military Tech](https://stenobird.com/podcast/the-defense-tech-podcast-with-fexingo-government-contracting-aerospace-and-military-tech-7871833)
Published: 2026-06-17T08:03:36+00:00
Episode link: https://audio.fexingo.com/business/the-defense-tech-podcast/episode-0056.mp3
Audio file: https://audio.fexingo.com/business/the-defense-tech-podcast/episode-0056.mp3
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Duration seconds: 611

## Resource

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

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