John Jacobs

Policy & GA @Zeno_power deploying nuclear batteries to space and maritime markets. Former energy and critical minerals addict @BPC_Bipartisan. Views my own.

[Emmet Penney @nukebarbarian]

We're hiring.

Those without an appetite for victory need not apply.

[sam parker @samprkr]

It is *crazy* if the economics of an apartment building cannot work at 15th and U Street NW????

[John Jacobs @ItsJohnJacobs]

The EV tax credit’s real mistake was being downstream. Move it upstream, rebrand it as domestic battery manufacturing policy, keep the same critical mineral sourcing restrictions, and it’s probably still law.

[Ashley Schapitl @AshleySchapitl]

"[I]t quickly became clear that the economics didn't work."

We're in a very bad place if it's economically viable to build a gas station and not homes.

[Zeno Power @zeno_power]

We are teaming up with @FireflySpace to fly our Am-241 Radioisotope Heater Unit to the Moon on an upcoming Blue Ghost mission in 2028 - keeping a payload alive through the brutal cold and dark of lunar night.

@NASAAdmin has been clear: nuclear power is crucial to building @NASAMoonBase. Zeno is ready to deliver it.

Ad lunam per nuclear!

[John Jacobs @ItsJohnJacobs]

First-of-a-kind advanced nuclear system coming to a moon near you in 2028 via @FireflySpace’s lunar lander

[SpaceNews @SpaceNews_Inc]

Firefly Aerospace to fly Zeno Power radioisotope heating unit on lunar lander mission https://t.co/YmFGnU6KDu

[A.C. Charania @ac_charania]

Great to finally announce what I have been working on. Thanks to the @zeno_power and @FireflySpace teams for working together to make this happen. From the PR: “Zeno’s Survive-the-Night Package will be onboarded to one of Firefly’s existing Blue Ghost mission returning to the Moon’s near side as part of NASA’s Commercial Lunar Payload Services (CLPS) initiative. Upon landing, Blue Ghost will first operate multiple NASA CLPS payloads using solar power for the full lunar day, equivalent to approximately 14 Earth days. Zeno’s payload will then operate during the lunar night and transmit.”

[Firefly Aerospace @FireflySpace]

Surviving the lunar night.

Firefly is onboarding @zeno_power on an upcoming Blue Ghost mission to tackle one of the biggest challenges on the Moon: operating through the extreme cold and prolonged darkness of the lunar night.

Hosted on our Blue Ghost lander, Zeno’s payload will demonstrate radioisotope and nuclear-powered technologies to extend operations beyond sunset when temperatures can fall below -280°F.

https://t.co/XhZfRNvBTk

[SpaceNews @SpaceNews_Inc]

Firefly Aerospace to fly Zeno Power radioisotope heating unit on lunar lander mission https://t.co/YmFGnU6KDu

[NASA Administrator Jared Isaacman @NASAAdmin]

Great day at Idaho National Laboratory, one of America’s most important centers for advancing the nuclear technologies that will power our future on Earth and in space.

The progress underway on SR-1 Freedom was especially exciting to see.

For more than 60 years, taxpayers have invested billions in space nuclear technology. Yet America has flown just one reactor in space, and it never left Earth orbit. We’re changing that.

SR-1 Freedom is our Nautilus. Like the first ship of the Nuclear Navy, it does not need to begin as the perfect end-state system. It needs to fly, establish operating experience, and give us the foundation for increasingly capable reactors and spacecraft that follow.

That progress on nuclear energy can ultimately provide dependable power for the Moon Base, enable more ambitious exploration throughout the outer solar system, and help produce the spacecraft that someday carry astronauts to Mars and bring them home safely.

NASA should be working on the near-impossible capabilities others are not positioned to pursue. Nuclear power and propulsion in space belongs squarely in that category.

Thank you to @GovernorLittle, @CongMikeSimpson, DOE Deputy Secretary James Danly, the entire @INL workforce, and our partners at @ENERGY for the work underway to finally get America moving on nuclear power in space.

SR-1 is just the beginning. The Nuclear NASA is coming.

[Zeno Power @zeno_power]

We've been selected by @NASA for a NIAC Phase I grant to study a new application of space nuclear technology: integrating compact nuclear batteries into astronaut spacesuits.

The project, EARENDIL, could help keep astronauts warm in the coldest permanently shadowed regions on the Moon, such as the lunar south pole.

[Firefly Aerospace @FireflySpace]

Proud to be one of the commercial partners helping advance NASA's Moon Base vision.

Building on our historic first commercial lunar landing, our next mission to the Moon's far side, Riders 2 the Dark, is pushing the boundaries even further by supporting scalable, repeatable lunar transportation while enabling science, technology demonstrations, and the infrastructure needed for a sustained human presence on the Moon!

The future of lunar exploration isn't decades away. It's happening now.

[McKenzie Wilson @McKenzieAWilson]

this is INSANE

[Emmet Penney @nukebarbarian]

I'm proud to begin my new role as Director of Energy & Infrastructure at @JoinFAI.

Since joining the team last year, I had the chance to lead on nuclear energy and American energy dominance. I'm excited to build on that work as director.

[A.C. Charania @ac_charania]

Join us to industrialize nuclear batteries in the space frontier across a wide customer base. Seeking a capture manager for our space business development efforts at @zeno_power: https://t.co/uatlgBzOaG

[A.C. Charania @ac_charania]

Congrats to our U.S. industrial base of lunar lander companies (something great to say in the 21st century) specifically @astrobotic @FireflySpace @Int_Machines for the lunar lander deliveries as part of @NASAMoonBase announced today- let us get to the Moon, survive, & thrive

[John Jacobs @ItsJohnJacobs]

At @zeno_power we’re building a production line for nuclear batteries to power the @NASA Moonbase and national security missions.

@nukebarbarian does a fantastic job breaking down our new Vallecitos facility and why it matters.

https://t.co/ERFEGJAdBC

[Nick Touran @whatisnuclear]

Having fun at the Vallecitos Atomic Plant dedication, May 22, 1957

[NASA Administrator Jared Isaacman @NASAAdmin]

@zeno_power I like it...

[Emmet Penney @nukebarbarian]

I'm so stoked for the @zeno_power.

Nuclear Barbarians listeners can look forward to tomorrow's episode to hear more about this exciting announcement.