Mission needs and system commonality for space nuclear power and propulsion

Nuclear power enables or significantly enhances a variety of space missions, whether near-Earth or for solar system exploration, lunar-Mars exploration, or recovery of near-Earth resources. Performance optimizations for individual missions lead to a large number of power and propulsion systems to be developed. However, the realities of the budget and schedules indicate that the number of nuclear systems that will be developed are limited. One needs to seek the 'minimum requirements' to do a job rather than the last ounce of performance, and areas of commonality. To develop a minimum number of systems to meet the overall DoD, NASA, and commercial needs, the broad spectrum of requirements has been examined along with cost drivers.