The development of nuclear fusion propulsion has the potential to
revolutionize space travel, both in terms of speed and fuel consumption.
Travel durations to Mars might be cut in half or it could take just two
years instead of eight to
reach Saturn
and its moons using the same sorts of reactions that fuel the Sun.
Although it is immensely exciting, not everyone is certain that it will
work because the
technology requires
extremely high pressures and temperatures to operate.
The biggest fusion rocket engine has ever been created is now being
constructed by
Pulsar Fusion in
Bletchley, United Kingdom, to demonstrate the practicality of the
technology.
The 8 meters (26 feet) long chamber is expected to begin shooting in
2027.
It is difficult, as one might anticipate, to replicate the Sun inside of a
rocket. An ultra-hot plasma is confined inside an electromagnetic field at
the heart of nuclear fusion propulsion, and scientists are still figuring
out how to achieve this in a steady and secure manner.
According
to James Lambert, CFO of Pulsar Fusion, "the challenge is learning how to
hold and confine the super-hot plasma within an electromagnetic field." The
behavior of the plasma is similar to that of a weather system in that it is
very challenging to anticipate using traditional methods.
This box of extreme weather could become somewhat easier to map with the
use of machine learning. In order to better forecast how the plasma is
expected to behave and how it may be more precisely controlled, Pulsar
Fusion has teamed up with
Princeton Satellite Systems
in the US.
The chamber will reach temperatures of several hundred million degrees,
making it hotter than the Sun, if scientists are successful in getting
everything working as designed. The extra energy discharged may be able to
propel rockets at speeds of up to 500,000 miles (804,672 kilometers) per
hour.
In the specific form of engine we're discussing here, called a Direct
Fusion Drive (DFD), charged particles directly generate thrust rather than
turning them into energy. It is more effective than other choices and
requires less fuel since it is fueled by atomic isotopes.
"You need to consider whether humanity is capable of fusion." Richard
Dinan, CEO of Pulsar Fusion, told
TechCrunch. "If we can't, then none of this matters,"
"Fusion propulsion is definitely inevitable if we can, and we can. The
human development of space is compelling.
Nuclear fusion promises to cut the time it takes to travel between planets
in half and to supply nearly limitless, clean energy for life on
Earth.
Scientists anticipate that it will initially be tested in space, where the
absence of an atmosphere and the extremely low temperatures favor
reactions.
