This list of nuclear power systems in space includes nuclear power systems that were flown to space, or at least launched in an attempt to reach space. Such used nuclear power systems include: radioisotope heater units (RHU) (usually produce heat by spontaneous decay of ) radioisotope thermoelectric generators (RTG) (usually produce heat by spontaneous decay of and convert it to electricity using a thermoelectric generator) miniaturized fission reactors (usually produce heat by controlled fission of highly enriched and convert it to electricity using a thermionic converter) Systems never launched are not included here, see Nuclear power in space.

Initial total power is provided as either electrical power (We) or thermal power (Wt), depending on the intended application.

Nation Mission LaunchedStatus LocationNotesType System name Nuclear fuel Power (nominal) Ref Transit-4A 1961 Earth orbit RTG SNAP-3B Transit-4B 1961 Earth orbit RTG SNAP-3B Transit 5BN-1 1963 Earth orbit RTG SNAP-9A Transit 5BN-2 1963 Earth orbit RTG SNAP-9A Transit 5BN-3 1964 - Failed to reach orbit, burned up in atmosphere.RTG SNAP-9A SNAPSHOT 1965 Earth orbit Low graveyard orbit in 1300 km heightFission reactor SNAP-10A (uranium-zirconium hydride) Nimbus B (Nimbus-B1) 1968-05-18 - Crashed at launch, radioactive material from RTG recovered from ocean and reusedRTG SNAP-19B (2) Nimbus 3 (Nimbus-B2) 1969-04-14 - Earth re-entry 1972RTG SNAP-19B (2) Nimbus IV 1970 Earth orbit RTG SNAP-19 Nimbus V 1972 Earth orbit RTG SNAP-19 Nimbus VI 1975 Damaged Earth orbit RTG SNAP-19 Nimbus VII 1978 Damaged Earth orbit RTG SNAP-19 Apollo 11 1969 Lunar surfaceSea of TranquilityRHU RHU (2) Apollo 12 ALSEP 1969 Lunar surface Ocean of StormsRTG SNAP-27 Apollo 13 ALSEP 1970 Earth ocean Survived reentry, remains at 7000+ ft depth, Tonga Trench, Pacific OceanRTG SNAP-27 Apollo 14 ALSEP 1971 Lunar surface Fra MauroRTG SNAP-27 Apollo 15 ALSEP 1971 Lunar surface Hadley–ApennineRTG SNAP-27 Pioneer 10 1972 Solar escape trajectory RTG SNAP-19 (4) + RHU (12) + Apollo 16 ALSEP 1972 Lunar surface Descartes HighlandsRTG SNAP-27 TRAID-01-1X 1972 Earth orbit RTG SNAP-19 Apollo 17 ALSEP 1972 Lunar surface Taurus–LittrowRTG SNAP-27 Pioneer 11 1973 Solar escape trajectory RTG RTG SNAP-19 (4) + RHU (12) + Viking 1 1976 Mars surface Chryse PlanitiaRTG lander modified SNAP-19 (2) Viking 2 1976 Mars surface Utopia PlanitiaRTG lander modified SNAP-19 (2) LES-8 1976 Earth orbit Near geostationary orbitRTG MHW-RTG (2) LES-9 1976 Earth orbit Near geostationary orbitRTG MHW-RTG (2) Voyager 1 1977 Solar escape trajectory RTG MHW-RTG (3) + RHU(9) + Voyager 2 1977 Solar escape trajectory RTG MHW-RTG (3) + RHU(9) + Mars 2020/Perseverance2020Mars surfaceRTGMMRTG110 We Galileo 1989 - Jupiter atmospheric entryRTG GPHS-RTG (2) Ulysses 1990 Heliocentric orbit RTG GPHS-RTG Cassini 1997 - Burned-up in Saturn's atmosphereRTG GPHS-RTG (3) New Horizons 2006 Solar escape trajectory RTG GPHS-RTG (1) MSL/Curiosity rover 2011 Mars surface RTG MMRTG Kosmos 84 1965 Earth orbit RTG Orion-1 RTG Kosmos 90 1965 Earth orbit RTG Orion-1 RTG Kosmos 198 (RORSAT) 1967-12-27 Earth orbit Fission reactor BES-5 ?? Kosmos 209 (RORSAT) 1968-03-22 Earth orbit Fission reactor BES-5 ?? Kosmos 300 (Moon)1969-09-23 -Failed to achieve escape trajectory, burned up 4 days after launchRTG Kosmos 305 (Moon) 1969-10-22 - Failed to achieve escape trajectory, burned up 2 days after launchRTG Encyclopedia Astronautica article on the US-A RORSAT programme. Kosmos 367 (RORSAT) 1970-10-03 Earth orbit, 579 mile altitude Fission reactor BES-5 ?? Kosmos 402 (RORSAT) 1971 Earth orbit Fission reactor BES-5 ?? Kosmos 469 (RORSAT) 1971 High orbit Fission reactor BES-5 (officially confirmed) Kosmos 516 1972 High orbited 1972 Fission reactor BES-5 RORSAT 1973 - Launch failure over Pacific Ocean, near JapanFission reactor BES-5 Kosmos 626 1973 Earth orbit Fission reactor BES-5 Kosmos 651 1974 Fission reactor BES-5 Kosmos 654 1974 Fission reactor BES-5 Kosmos 723 1975 Fission reactor BES-5 Kosmos 724 1975 Fission reactor BES-5 Kosmos 785 1975 - Failed after reaching orbitFission reactor BES-5 Kosmos 860 1976 Fission reactor BES-5 Kosmos 861 1976 Fission reactor BES-5 Kosmos 952 1977 Fission reactor BES-5 Kosmos 954 1977 - Exploded on re-entry 1978 (over Canada)Fission reactor BES-5 Kosmos 1176 1980 Earth orbit 11788/11971 Earth orbit 870–970 kmFission reactor BES-5 Kosmos 1249 1981 Fission reactor BES-5 Kosmos 1266 1981 Fission reactor BES-5 Kosmos 1299 1981 Fission reactor BES-5 Kosmos 1402 1982 - Earth re-entry 1983 (South Atlantic)Fission reactor BES-5 Kosmos 1372 1982 Fission reactor BES-5 Kosmos 1365 1982 Fission reactor BES-5 Kosmos 1412 1982 Fission reactor BES-5 Kosmos 1461 1983 -Earth orbit, explodedFission reactor BES-5 Kosmos 1597 1984 Fission reactor BES-5 Kosmos 1607 1984 Earth orbit High orbited 1985Fission reactor BES-5 Kosmos 1670 1985 Earth orbit High orbited 1985Fission reactor BES-5 Kosmos 1677 1985 Earth orbit High orbited 1985Fission reactor BES-5 Kosmos 1736 1986 Earth orbit High orbited 1986Fission reactor BES-5 Kosmos 1771 1986 Earth orbit High orbited 1986Fission reactor BES-5 Kosmos 1900 1987 Earth orbit Earth orbit, 454 mile altitudeFission reactor BES-5 Kosmos 1860 1987 Fission reactor BES-5 Kosmos 1932 1988 Earth orbitFission reactor BES-5 Kosmos 1682 1985 Earth orbit High orbited 1986Fission reactor BES-5 Kosmos 1818 (RORSAT) 1987 - in high Earth orbitFission reactor Topaz-I Kosmos 1867 (RORSAT) 1987 Earth Parked in high Earth orbitFission reactor Topaz-I Lunokhod 201 1969-02-19 - Rocket exploded at launch, radioactive material from RHU spread over RussiaRHU Lunokhod 1 1970 Lunar surface RHU Lunokhod 2 1973 Lunar surface RHU Mars 96 1996 - Launch failure, entered Pacific OceanRHU RHU (4) Chang'e 3 lander 2013 Lunar surface RHU In combination with solar panels allows continued use of the Lunar-based ultraviolet telescope Yutu rover2013Lunar surfaceRHUCommunication lost in 2015Chang'e 4 lander2019Lunar surfaceRHUChina Shoots for the Moon's Far Side . (PDF) IEEE.org. 2018.Yutu-2 rover2019Lunar surfaceRHUChandrayaan-3 propulsion module2023Earth orbit RHUBARC RHU, transferred back from lunar orbit after lander mission completion AmBOHR2026-07-07Earth orbitFirst commercial nuclear-powered satellite and first nuclear CubeSat.BetavoltaicNanoTritium Batteries

See also Outer Space Treaty List of high-altitude nuclear explosions Nuclear power in space List of artificial radiation belts :Category:Nuclear-powered robots

References