Balerion Senior Associate Aidan Daoussis sits down with Advisor Doug McAdams to discuss the nuclear fission renaissance and space nuclear power. The conversation covers naval nuclear propulsion, small modular reactors, advanced fuels, nuclear supply chains, and the role of fission in space power and propulsion. Doug also discusses where nuclear may matter most for defense, lunar infrastructure, Mars missions, and future space transportation.
Timestamped Overview
00:00 – Introduction and Doug McAdams’ background
02:10 – The Navy nuclear program as an early deep tech model
05:20 – Nuclear submarines, deterrence, and undersea operations
09:20 – Naval reactors as early small modular reactors
12:05 – Uranium enrichment, HALEU, and fuel supply chains
14:45 – Autonomous underwater vehicles and nuclear power
16:25 – Life aboard a nuclear submarine and reactor operations
17:50 – Nuclear safety, public perception, and reactor design
22:40 – Future submarine architectures and unmanned systems
26:10 – Space nuclear power compared with naval reactors
30:05 – Early space reactor deployment and orbital demonstrations
32:50 – Nuclear electric versus nuclear thermal propulsion37:20 – Commercial space use cases for nuclear reactors
39:10 – Fusion propulsion and Mars transit concepts
41:45 – Fission today, fusion tomorrow, and industry timelines
43:45 – AI data centers, power demand, and the fission renaissance
46:05 – NRC regulation, Naval Reactors, and parallel approval paths
48:20 – Nuclear supply chain winners and manufacturing bottlenecks
54:30 – Investor areas to watch: fission, space nuclear, and fusion propulsion
