Fabian Alefeld interviews Omar Mireles, Director of Manufacture and Materials at Space Nuclear Power Corporation (Space Nukes), about his career spanning NASA, Oak Ridge, and Los Alamos and how additive manufacturing (AM) reshaped space hardware development. Omar describes early exposure to SLS prototyping, graduate work in nuclear materials and propulsion, building nuclear materials labs at NASA Marshall, and later leading AM efforts for liquid rocket engines and refractory metals.  

He explains how AM accelerates iteration, enables complex geometries, part consolidation, and weight reduction, and where traditional methods still dominate depending on production rate. The conversation covers refractory metal challenges (supply chain, oxygen sensitivity, post-processing, inspection) and nuclear reactor basics, generations, and regulatory barriers to AM adoption. Omar outlines Space Nukes’ goal of delivering safe, affordable, reliable power anywhere in the solar system, noting heat rejection as a key space constraint, Krusty’s 2018 test heritage, potential AM roles in heat exchangers, and an aggressive ~2-year flight timeline depending on regulation and mission. 

02:26 Omar Early Motivation 

03:08 NASA Co-ops and First AM 

07:59 Stirling Radiation Research 

20:07 Refractory Metals AM Lab 

21:31 Los Alamos to Space Nukes 

25:14 Did AM Change Space Race 

31:46 Where AM Flies Today 

37:41 Rocket Engines Print vs Traditional 

41:15 Refractory Alloys Challenges 

46:39 Where Refractories Make Sense 

47:05 Will Refractory AM Grow 

49:39 NASA Metal AM Handbook Origins 

56:37 How Nuclear Reactors Work 

01:13:02 Additive Manufacturing in Nuclear 

01:18:31 What Space Nukes Builds 

01:19:36 Why Space Nuclear Power Matters 

01:25:20 Why Space Needs Nukes 

01:37:47 Krusty Test Proof 

01:41:18 Heat Rejection Challenge 

01:49:25 Timeline and First Missions