A Stunning Fusion Rocket Could Cut Interplanetary Travel in Half—and We'll Try It in Just 2 Years
Nuclear rockets are the future of space propulsion, and while fission propulsion is rapidly developing, most believe fusion propulsion is still a ways off.
However, a new U.K.-based company is claiming that its fusion-powered rocket, called 'sunbird' could be ready for space-based demonstration by as early as 2027.
Designed to be a space 'tugboat' for interplanetary payloads, the company states that it could chop travel time between planets by more than half.
Nuclear power holds a lot of promise for humanity's future. Its biggest potential lies in the worldwide effort to harness fusion—the energy-producing process that powers the Sun—to provide limitless clean energy on Earth. However, fusion also has other non-terrestrial applications that could benefit humans traveling beyond the life-sustaining embrace of our planetary home.
A fusion rocket, for example, would have the immensely useful upside of being both powerful and efficient. This one-two propulsion punch could dramatically cut down travel times between planets—something that will be necessary if we have any hope of thriving beyond Earth. Now, in a surprise reveal, the U.K.-based company Pulsar Fusion revealed a reusable fusion rocket concept known as the 'sunbird.' Unlike rockets today, which launch from some terrestrial platform, these rockets would be stored in orbital satellite docks, and would then serve as a kind of interplanetary tugboat for missions to Mars and beyond.
Pulsar Fusion, which also develops plasma thrusters and is designed for more near-term fission engines as well, described the project to Live Science as one of 'complete secrecy,' having begun more than 10 years ago. That decade of R&D is reflected in the company's aggressive timetable for the project—its website states that the rocket will begin static tests this year, with hopes of an in-orbit demonstration by 2027.
The company publicly revealed the idea at the Space-Comm Expo in London earlier this month, and created a short video detailing how the system would work, complete with a rendering of the fusion engine and point-to-point docking system. Once perched in a space dock, the sunbird would refuel and recharge for another interplanetary voyage.
'Pulsar has built a reputation for delivering real technology—not just concepts,' Richard Dinan, CEO of the company, said in a press statement. 'We actively welcome visits from appropriate partners and prospective international clients and look forward to sharing more exciting developments we have in the pipeline.'
So, what speeds will these fusion-powered tug boats be able to pull off? Sunbird will use what's known as a Duel Direct Fusion Drive (DDFD) engine, which uses fusion to create exhaust speeds exceeding anything capable today. For example, when New Horizons launched back in 2006, it took the spacecraft 9.5 years to finally reach Pluto. Pulsar Fusion claims that it could cut that travel time in half.
'If we are going to be the species that actually get to other planets, then exhaust speeds are pretty much the most important thing,' Dinan said during Expo, as reported by Live Science. 'In terms of what can be [theoretically] produced at exhaust speeds, fusion is king.'
It may seem surprising that a company could even contemplate a fusion rocket demonstration in 2027, when fusion energy on Earth chronically remains decades away from realization. But, interestingly, comparing the engineering challenges in space and on earth is a bit like comparing apples and oranges. While fusion reactors need to pump out neutrons near-continuously to be viable sources of energy, the sunbird uses a deuterium-helium-3 fuel source to create protons, and only burns for small amounts of time. It remains a devilishly difficult engineering challenge, but one that's not quite as daunting as the International Thermonuclear Experimental Reactor (ITER) and its tokamak brethren.
Of course, space propulsion research is a kind of overpromise-and-underdeliver enterprise, but NASA and DARPA have plans to test its own fission rocket in 2027. One way or another, we're going to find out if the promise of nuclear propulsion will finally become reality in only a few years time.
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