Marc A. Gibson

TL;DR: The development of NASA's Kilopower fission reactor is taking large strides toward flight development with several successful tests completed during its technology demonstration trials as discussed by the authors, which can provide 1-10 kW of electrical power to a spacecraft or lander, which could be used for additional science instruments, the ability to power electric propulsion systems, or support human exploration on another planet.

TL;DR: The Kilopower Project was initiated by NASA's Space Technology Mission Directorate/Game Changing Development Program in fiscal year 2015 to demonstrate subsystem-level technology readiness of small-scale systems as discussed by the authors.

TL;DR: The Kilopower nuclear ground testing (Kilopower Reactor Using Stirling Technology) was completed at the Nevada Nuclear Security Site (NNSS) on March 21, 2018 as discussed by the authors.

TL;DR: The Kilowatt Reactor Using Stirling Technology (KRUSTY) project as discussed by the authors was the first attempt to demonstrate the nuclear operation of a Kilopower Reactor.

TL;DR: The Kilowatt Reactor Using Stirling TechnologY (KRUSTY) was a prototypic nuclear-powered test of a 5-kW(thermal) Kilopower space reactor as discussed by the authors.