A small Miami-based company has achieved what was once unimaginable for private enterprise: launching a nuclear-powered satellite into space. City Labs successfully sent its BOHR spacecraft into orbit aboard a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket on July 7, 2026, marking a groundbreaking moment in commercial space exploration.
The historic launch took place from Vandenberg Space Force Base in California as part of SpaceX’s Transporter-17 rideshare mission, which carried 81 payloads total. The BOHR satellite, roughly the size of a softball, is now orbiting Earth at an altitude between 350 and 400 miles in a sun-synchronous orbit.
What makes this mission truly revolutionary is not just the technology but the regulatory pathway it established. BOHR became the first commercial mission ever approved under the Federal Aviation Administration’s new nuclear payload licensing process. This framework, developed from a 2019 presidential memorandum, now provides a clear roadmap for other American companies seeking to launch nuclear-powered spacecraft.
The satellite’s tritium betavoltaic battery operates on a principle similar to solar cells rather than traditional nuclear reactors. Tritium, a radioactive hydrogen isotope, emits low-energy particles that a semiconductor converts directly into electricity. While the power output is minimal compared to NASA’s larger nuclear generators, these batteries can operate for decades and present significantly lower safety risks.
City Labs CEO Peter Cabauy emphasized that the regulatory breakthrough may be more significant than the technical achievement itself. The approval, validated by Sandia National Laboratories, creates a template for the entire commercial space industry. For the Latino community in Miami and beyond, this success story demonstrates how innovation and persistence can open doors that were previously closed to private enterprise.
