City Labs to Launch First Nuclear-Powered Satellite, BOHR
Skip to Content
News & Events
Making the impossible possible with nuclear micropower
Contact Us
All Projects
July 2026 | Press Release
City Labs Launches World’s First Commercial Nuclear-Powered Satellite Aboard SpaceX Transporter-17
Article by City Labs staff
Share This Article
Table of Contents
About City Labs
Miami, FL — July 7, 2026 — City Labs today announced that its BOHR (Betavoltaic Orbital High-Reliability) satellite, the world’s first commercial nuclear-powered satellite and first nuclear CubeSat, has been officially manifested aboard SpaceX Transporter-17, a rideshare mission launched today.
The BOHR mission demonstrates City Labs’ proprietary NanoTritium™ betavoltaic technology in orbit as a dedicated payload power source, providing continuous, long-duration electrical power independent of solar energy. This milestone establishes a new class of spacecraft capabilities, enabling persistent operation of critical subsystems where traditional power systems fall short. This includes deep space, permanently shadowed lunar regions, and long-duration autonomous sensor networks.
The BOHR spacecraft utilizes conventional solar power for satellite bus operations, while the NanoTritium™ system is used to power and validate the payload demonstration.
“This is a historic step for commercial nuclear power in space,” said Peter Cabauy, CEO of City Labs. “BOHR demonstrates that safe, compact, and regulatory-approved nuclear power systems are ready for routine commercial deployment. This capability enables persistent, always-on payload operations that are not constrained by sunlight or battery life.”
As NASA’s Artemis program pushes human presence back to the Moon and commercial operators seek long-duration missions beyond low Earth orbit, the demand for power systems that operate independent of sunlight is growing. City Labs’ BOHR arrives as the first commercial answer to that challenge.
In another historic first, the BOHR spacecraft is the first commercial nuclear mission to exercise the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) pathway for nuclear launch approval as laid out in National Security Presidential Memorandum-20. The launch safety analysis was prepared by City Labs with technical leadership from Kevin Makinson and independently reviewed, validated, and supported in regulatory engagement by Sandia National Laboratories, a trusted authority in U.S. nuclear launch authorization.
On September 30, 2025, the FAA issued its affirmative payload authorization for the BOHR mission, marking a key regulatory milestone for the commercial use of nuclear materials in spaceflight.
City Labs’ tritium-based power systems operate at extremely low radiation levels and are engineered for safe handling, transportation, and integration within standard commercial launch environments. The BOHR mission serves as a pathfinder for future nuclear-powered spacecraft supporting both civil and national security missions.
This work is funded in whole or in part by the Department of War (DoW) under contract number FA9453-25-C-X003. The views expressed are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of the Department of the Air Force, the Department of Defense, or the U.S. government. Approved for public release; distribution is unlimited. Public Affairs release approval #AFRL-2026-2719. The BOHR mission builds on years of private investment by City Labs, alongside support from the DoW through the Operational Energy Innovation (OE-I) Directorate’s Operational Energy Capability Improvement Fund (OECIF), as well as contracts with the Air Force Research Laboratory, AFWERX, NASA, and SpaceWERX under the Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) program.
About City Labs
City Labs, Inc. is a Florida-based corporation specializing in designing, developing, and manufacturing advanced nuclear micropower technology based on tritium, enabling long-life, maintenance-free power for medical, industrial, and space applications. Its NanoTritium™ platform delivers reliable micropower in compact form factors where conventional energy sources are impractical.
Table of Contents
About City Labs
Categories
Events
News
Press Release
Tips & Information
Search
Search
Related Articles
We're keeping you up-to-date with everything happening at City Labs, from Company updates to advances in technology.
June 19, 2026
City Labs Awarded $1.5M DARPA Contract for Next-Generation Nuclear Battery Technology<br>Miami, FL [May 18, 2026] — City Labs, the leader in tritium nuclear micropower technology, today announced it has been awarded a $1.5 million contract by the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) under the Rads to Watts (R2W) program. The funding will support the development of a new class…
May 3, 2024
Nuclear Safety Myths: Unveiling the Truth With City Labs<br>In a world where the conversation around energy is dominated by...