Uploaded June 2026 | Updated September 2026, 1 week ago
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
____________________
Subscribe to our YouTube channel:
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/eosgmbh?sub_c...
Follow us:
LinkedIn: linkedin.com/company/eos
Twitter: twitter.com/eos3dprinting
Instagram: instagram.com/eos3dprinting
____________________
Imprint: eos.info/en/footer/imprint
Privacy Policy: https://www.eos.info/en/footer/privac...
____________________
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
____________________
Subscribe to our YouTube channel:
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/eosgmbh?sub_c...
Follow us:
LinkedIn: linkedin.com/company/eos
Twitter: twitter.com/eos3dprinting
Instagram: instagram.com/eos3dprinting
____________________
Imprint: eos.info/en/footer/imprint
Privacy Policy: https://www.eos.info/en/footer/privac...
____________________
