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Project Prometheus
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<p>Project Prometheus (also known as Project Promethian) was established in 2003 by <a href="/facts/NASA/TIMCV0yV">NASA</a> to develop <a href="/facts/Nuclear_power/jzSyvxSn">nuclear-powered</a> systems for long-duration space missions. This was NASA's first serious foray into <a href="/facts/Nuclear_propulsion/nYPc1mTy">nuclear spacecraft propulsion</a> since the cancellation of the <a href="/facts/Project_Timberwind/s6vLKH3M">SNTP</a> project in 1995. The project was planned to design, develop, and fly multiple deep space missions to the outer planets. </p><p>The project was cancelled in 2005, due to other demands on NASA's budget. Its budget shrank from $252.6 million in 2005 to only $100 million in 2006, $90 million of which was for closeout costs on cancelled contracts. </p>