The FALCON reactor-pumped laser program is investigating concepts for high power laser systems pumped directly by fission energy from a nuclear reactor. The direct pumping of laser media with fission energy offers the potential system advantages of scaling to very high laser powers with long run times, extremely compact and low-mass energy storage, and relatively simple gain generator design. Reactor pumping has been studied in the ACRR and SPR research reactor facilities at Sandia National Laboratories. Based on these experiments and extensive system analysis, large reactor-pumped laser systems have been evaluated for extraction efficiency, beam quality, and practicality (considering auxiliary power needs, radiation damage to optical components, rejection of waste heat, and expected imperfections in excitation structures). It appears that high-power reactor-pumped lasers can be developed in the near term to provide important capabilities for the exploration and utilization of space.