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Conference Spotlight
2026 ANS Annual Conference
May 31–June 3, 2026
Denver, CO|Sheraton Denver
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Nuclear Science and Engineering
March 2026
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February 2026
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April 2026
Latest News
NRC approves TerraPower construction permit
Today, the Nuclear Regulatory Commission announced that it has approved TerraPower’s construction permit application for Kemmerer Unit 1, the company’s first deployment of Natrium, its flagship sodium fast reactor.
This approval is a significant milestone on three fronts. For TerraPower, it represents another step forward in demonstrating its technology. For the Department of Energy, it reflects progress (despite delays) for the Advanced Reactor Demonstration Program (ARDP). For the NRC, it is the first approval granted to a commercial reactor in nearly a decade—and the first approval of a commercial non–light water reactor in more than 40 years.
Technical Session|Panel
Tuesday, May 9, 2023|3:45–5:25PM MDT|Twin Falls Room
Session Chair:
Jean-Pierre Fleurial (JPL)
Session Organizer:
Alternate Chairs:
Austen D. Fradeneck
Vedant K. Mehta
Radioisotope Heat and Power Systems are key enabling technologies for exploration of our solar system. Considering that there seems to be a strong mission pull from government agencies and commercial space and with recent changes in the regulatory framework for the launch of spacecraft containing space nuclear systems, prospects of new generation of radioisotope power system-enabled missions are on the horizon. The focus of this panel is to discuss the legacy/heritage RPS technologies, key lessons learned, and perspectives on where we’re headed in the next couple of decades and beyond.
Leo Gard
Aerojet Rocketdyne
Tyler Bernstein
Zeno Power Systems
Lucas Rich
INL
Jay Newman
NASA Glenn Research Center
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