For those in the nuclear engineering field, often the reactor itself seems to be an end in and of itself (I am guilty of this, as well). However, no matter how simple, elegant, unique, or original a concept is, it still is a power source for… something; in this case a NASA mission of some sort. These fall into two broad categories: spacecraft (orbiters or fly-by missions) and landers (either fixed or rovers). Both orbiters and landers have been considered for Kilopower, and we’ll look at some options for each.
What missions have been proposed that this reactor makes possible? Remember, NASA has stacks and stacks of missions that it commissions a one-to-three (usually two) year study on, and stacks them up to wait on certain enabling technologies to come about. Often, this enabling technology is the power supply, and these are the missions that stand out for Kilopower.
Most of these missions did not incorporate a nuclear reactor as part of their power supply options so often the mission changes from what was originally proposed to account for the reactor. In fact, they were all powered by multiple RTGs, as Cassini was (three MMRTGs), which don’t scale well as a general rule. Even if a mission had planned for a reactor, the specific data about this reactor firms up questions that were left in the original design study.