According to Chinese media reports, the space nuclear reactor has undergone a comprehensive assessment of its performance.

China has created a nuclear reactor that can produce 1 megawatt of energy to support spacecraft systems and their movement in space. According to Chinese media reports, this development has passed the evaluation of the effectiveness of the Ministry of Science and Technology of China, writes Space.

American experts learned about China’s new technological development from messages that got into the network. But they were quickly deleted, leaving only cached data and archived versions.

It is known that scientists from the Chinese Academy of Sciences have created a nuclear reactor for use in space missions that can produce 1 megawatt of energy. The Ministry of Science and Technology of China has tested its effectiveness. But the Chinese media reports do not provide any technical details, nor do they say where exactly this nuclear reactor will be used.

American experts say that 1 megawatt of energy is enough to provide 10 such orbital stations as the ISS. It is known that this space station consumes a little more than 120 kilowatts of electricity.

Nuclear power is often used in spacecraft that, due to being in deep space, cannot receive enough solar energy to sustain their performance and propulsion.

Scientists believe that nuclear power is the key to the success of future human settlements on the Moon or Mars. Despite the fact that the creation of the Chinese space nuclear reactor is shrouded in mystery, it is known that this project began to be implemented in 2019. In 2021, reports from the Chinese media revealed that a prototype of this reactor had been created, and some of its components were already operational.

American experts believe that China is very interested in creating nuclear reactors for space missions. This especially applies to the use of nuclear energy for research in the far corners of the Solar System.

There is information that the Chinese want to send spacecraft that use nuclear power to the farthest parts of the outer solar system to study the heliosphere. It is also known that China is engaged in the creation of a space vehicle with a nuclear engine, which will study Neptune.

Even last year, American scientists said that the US needs to speed up the development of space vehicles and spaceships with nuclear engines, so the country may be ahead of China in this regard. Focus has already written about the fact that NASA plans to create a nuclear power system on the moon, which will provide energy for the future lunar base.

As for China, this country already has a successful experience of using nuclear energy in space vehicles. For example, the Chanye-3 lander on the Moon uses a plutonium-powered nuclear generator. This allows the device to survive a cold two-week lunar night.

As for the moon, NASA is very hopeful that the launch of the SLS launch vehicle, which will send a spacecraft to the moon, will still take place on Saturday, September 3, as Focus has already written.

Focus also wrote about another secret Chinese development. This is a reusable space plane that can compete with the same American spaceship.

We remind you that the US Department of Defense is very concerned about the development of space weapons produced in China and Russia. A special meeting of Pentagon leaders will even be held on this occasion.