# The Space Nuclear Directive Wants Reactors in Orbit by 2028. It Hasn’t Figured Out the Fuel.

- slug: the-space-nuclear-directive-wants-reactors-in-orbit-by-2028-it-hasnt-figured-out-the-fuel
- date: 2026-04-14
- category: Space & Aerospace

The 2028 orbital reactor target collides with a fuel bottleneck: the US has one HALEU producer at 900 kg per year, Russia is cut off by 2028, and new domestic capacity does not arrive until 2031.

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