{"type":"rich","version":"1.0","provider_name":"Transistor","provider_url":"https://transistor.fm","author_name":"Additive Snack","title":"AM Rocket Engines and Space Nuclear Power with Omar Mireles","html":"","width":"100%","height":180,"duration":7110,"description":"Fabian Alefeld interviews Omar Mireles, Director of Manufacture and Materials at Space Nuclear Power Corporation (Space Nukes), about his career spanning NASA, Oak Ridge, and Los Alamos and how additive manufacturing (AM) reshaped space hardware development. Omar describes early exposure to SLS prototyping, graduate work in nuclear materials and propulsion, building nuclear materials labs at NASA Marshall, and later leading AM efforts for liquid rocket engines and refractory metals.  \nHe explains how AM accelerates iteration, enables complex geometries, part consolidation, and weight reduction, and where traditional methods still dominate depending on production rate. The conversation covers refractory metal challenges (supply chain, oxygen sensitivity, post-processing, inspection) and nuclear reactor basics, generations, and regulatory barriers to AM adoption. Omar outlines Space Nukes’ goal of delivering safe, affordable, reliable power anywhere in the solar system, noting heat rejection as a key space constraint, Krusty’s 2018 test heritage, potential AM roles in heat exchangers, and an aggressive ~2-year flight timeline depending on regulation and mission. \n02:26 Omar Early Motivation \n03:08 NASA Co-ops and First AM \n07:59 Stirling Radiation Research \n20:07 Refractory Metals AM Lab \n21:31 Los Alamos to Space Nukes \n25:14 Did AM Change Space Race \n31:46 Where AM Flies Today \n37:41 Rocket Engines Print vs Traditional \n41:15 Refractory Alloys Challenges \n46:39 Where Refractories Make Sense \n47:05 Will Refractory AM Grow \n49:39 NASA Metal AM Handbook Origins \n56:37 How Nuclear Reactors Work \n01:13:02 Additive Manufacturing in Nuclear \n01:18:31 What Space Nukes Builds \n01:19:36 Why Space Nuclear Power Matters \n01:25:20 Why Space Needs Nukes \n01:37:47 Krusty Test Proof \n01:41:18 Heat Rejection Challenge \n01:49:25 Timeline and First Missions ","thumbnail_url":"https://img.transistorcdn.com/27ZYLdyZ8MHWZlxUWh87sIQyB5ttPhwcP3_CmUBDsv0/rs:fill:0:0:1/w:400/h:400/q:60/mb:500000/aHR0cHM6Ly9pbWct/dXBsb2FkLXByb2R1/Y3Rpb24udHJhbnNp/c3Rvci5mbS9zaG93/LzE2NDk0LzE3MDU5/NDgwMjItYXJ0d29y/ay5qcGc.webp","thumbnail_width":300,"thumbnail_height":300}