SpaceX launches BOHR, world's 1st commercially built nuclear powered satellite

Technology Jul 14, 2026

SpaceX just sent up BOHR, the world's first commercially built nuclear-powered satellite. Built by City Labs in Florida, it hit orbit on July 7 aboard a Falcon 9 rocket from California.

This launch is a big step for space tech: BOHR isn't your typical solar-powered satellite.

BOHR tests City Labs nanotritium betavoltaic

BOHR's main mission is to test City Labs's NanoTritium betavoltaic micropower source. It turns energy from tritium decay into electricity using a semiconductor, which could be super useful where sunlight is scarce (think lunar craters or deep space).

Unlike NASA's usual plutonium-based generators, BOHR uses tritium and still depends on solar panels for its primary spacecraft operations, but it is a promising option for future space missions.