Jul 16, 2023 03:28 PM
(This post was last modified: Jul 16, 2023 06:43 PM by C C.)
https://www.freethink.com/space/fusion-rocket
EXCERPTS: A British aerospace startup (Pulsar Fusion) is working on a fusion rocket it says will slash the amount of time it takes astronauts to travel to Mars and beyond — allowing humans to explore places that are currently far out of reach.
The challenge: Long-term exposure to microgravity and cosmic radiation can cause serious health issues for astronauts. That means NASA needs to keep its future Mars missions short enough that astronauts come home healthy — less than 4 years should work.
Using our current rocket propulsion technology, though, it’s going to take seven months just to get astronauts to Mars. Factor in the amount of time to get back to Earth, and nearly a third of a Mars astronaut’s mission is just going to be dedicated to the commute.
[...] Pulsar Fusion’s plan is to create a fusion rocket, using the atomic reaction to create exhaust speeds that ultimately propel the spacecraft forward at a blistering 500,000 mph — the fastest a crewed rocket has ever flown is 24,791 mph.
This is a hugely ambitious goal, but it might actually be easier to sustain a fusion reaction in the super-cold vacuum of space than on Earth. If Pulsar can pull it off, its fusion rocket could slash the amount of time it takes to send people and uncrewed machines throughout the solar system... (MORE - missing details)
EXCERPTS: A British aerospace startup (Pulsar Fusion) is working on a fusion rocket it says will slash the amount of time it takes astronauts to travel to Mars and beyond — allowing humans to explore places that are currently far out of reach.
The challenge: Long-term exposure to microgravity and cosmic radiation can cause serious health issues for astronauts. That means NASA needs to keep its future Mars missions short enough that astronauts come home healthy — less than 4 years should work.
Using our current rocket propulsion technology, though, it’s going to take seven months just to get astronauts to Mars. Factor in the amount of time to get back to Earth, and nearly a third of a Mars astronaut’s mission is just going to be dedicated to the commute.
[...] Pulsar Fusion’s plan is to create a fusion rocket, using the atomic reaction to create exhaust speeds that ultimately propel the spacecraft forward at a blistering 500,000 mph — the fastest a crewed rocket has ever flown is 24,791 mph.
This is a hugely ambitious goal, but it might actually be easier to sustain a fusion reaction in the super-cold vacuum of space than on Earth. If Pulsar can pull it off, its fusion rocket could slash the amount of time it takes to send people and uncrewed machines throughout the solar system... (MORE - missing details)