The Case for Architecting Space Nuclear Propulsion Missions and Vehicles That Incorporate In-Space Servicing, Assembly and Manufacturing Principles

Concepts for Space Nuclear Propulsion (SNP) vehicles are currently being matured for crewed and cargo missions to Mars and deep space. SNP vehicles are large and massive systems that cannot be orbited by a single launch or packaged in a single launch vehicle fairing. Thus, the vehicle must be aggregated and assembled on orbit. Technologies for In-space Servicing, Assembly, and Manufacturing (ISAM) are maturing at a rapid rate and can provide significant benefits to SNP mission and vehicle architectures. However, incorporating ISAM into SNP architectures has not been explored in great detail as of late. In this work, we propose conducting a comprehensive architecture study that assesses using ISAM capabilities from the onset of both SNP mission and vehicle design to realize benefits and identify technology gaps.