NASA ta ce an kara samun ci gaba wajen gina bangaren samar da wutar nukiliya na SR-1 Freedom. A bayanin ranar 20 ga Oktoba, hukumar ta bayyana tsarin kwangilar mayar da zafin reactor zuwa lantarki. Jirgin da ake shiryawa zai gwada amfani da wutar nukiliya wajen tuki bayan ya fita daga kewayar Duniya.
Bambanci tsakanin zafi da lantarki yana da muhimmanci a wannan zane. Reactor na rarraba kwayoyin halitta yana samar da zafi, amma jirgin yana bukatar wata na'ura da za ta mayar da makamashin zuwa lantarki. Wutar za ta taimaka wa kayan jirgi da tsarin tukinsa, ba wai reactor din ya zama injin roka na gargajiya ba.
Kamfanin Sierra Lobo zai samar da tsarin sauya zafi zuwa wuta da ake kira closed Brayton cycle. Idaho National Laboratory yana gina reactor karkashin Ma'aikatar Makamashi. Hada wadannan sassa zai samar da cikakken bangaren wutar nukiliya. Saboda haka, hadin kai tsakanin hukumomi da kamfani muhimmin aiki ne na injiniya.
NASA ta ce reactor zai kasance a kashe har sai jirgin ya fita daga kewayar Duniya. Ta kuma bayyana nazarin tsaro, sa ido na ci gaba da tsarin zane mai la'akari da hadari da lalacewar kayan aiki. Wadannan matakai na ci gaba ne; bayanin bai ce jirgin ya wuce dukkan gwaje-gwajen tashi na gaba ba.
Jirgin zai dauki aikin SkyFall, wanda ya kunshi jirage masu saukar ungulu uku bisa kwarewar Ingenuity a Mars. NASA ta ce za su tattara bayanan kimiyya da binciken yankunan da za a iya ziyarta da albarkatun ruwa. Wannan yana dogara da nasarar gina jirgi, isar da shi da sauran gwaje-gwajen da ake bukata.
Babbar manufar ita ce samar da makamashi inda hasken rana kadai ba zai wadatar ba. Amma cimma wani matakin kwangila ba yana nufin jirgin nukiliya ya fara aiki ba. Karin shaida za ta fito daga hada sassa, gwaje-gwaje da tantance shirye-shiryen tafiya yayin da NASA ke kokarin cimma burin harbawa a karshen 2028.