Russia's ZIO-Podolsk has completed assembling the integrated reactor vessel of the second of two 175 MWt reactors for the Arktika icebreaker. The procedure was completed in 19 days, three days fewer than for the same equipment for the first reactor.

A semi-submersible floating platform for transporting special material decommissioned by the Russian Navy has been delivered to the shipyard in Muggiano, in La Spezia, Italy. The platform - Itarus - was built by Fincantieri for RosRAO, the Russian Federal State Unitary Enterprise for radioactive waste management.

The keel for the US Navy's second Gerald Ford-class nuclear-powered aircraft carrier, the John F Kennedy, has been laid at a ceremony in Newport News, Virginia.

The forebody of the hull of the pilot nuclear icebreaker Arctica - the so-called Project 22220, or LK-60 series of icebreakers - has been completed at the slipway of the Baltic Shipyard in Saint Petersburg, Russia.

The UK Ministry of Defence has awarded BAE Systems - the British defence, aerospace and security company - the funding needed to complete the design of a successor to the Royal Navy's Vanguard class submarines.

Nasa's Glenn Center has called on the services of the US National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA) to support its mission to develop the Kilopower project, using uranium-fuelled Stirling engines in space missions.

The Baltiysky Zavod shipyard is to build Russia's next two LK-60 nuclear icebreakers after being the sole company to submit an acceptable tender in an open competition.

Suppliers are being sought by Russia for equipment to handle and transport used nuclear submarine fuel currently stored at Andreeva Bay. Such fuel has been stored at the site for over 50 years.

The torch relay for the 2014 Winter Olympics in the Russian city of Sochi reached the North Pole with the aid of the world's largest nuclear-powered icebreaker.

Initial success in demonstrating the feasibility of "space batteries" has led to the UK's National Nuclear Laboratory being awarded further developmental work by the European Space Agency.

A nuclear power source is likely to sustain NASA's next exploration of Mars - a robot that will take a package of samples for return to Earth and address gaps in the knowledge required for manned exploration.

Space travel to Mars and beyond may only be possible through the use of nuclear rocket technology, NASA suggests. Such spacecraft would be much faster than conventional craft, cutting the length of the mission and thereby reducing radiation exposure to astronauts.