Nuclear fusion rockets developed by one company could allow humanity to leave the solar system in the near future.
Rockets powered by nuclear fusion could be closer than you think.
According to a press release, British rocket manufacturer Pulsar Fusion has received funding from the UK Space Agency to develop "integrated nuclear fission-based power systems for electric propulsion".
They will be working with the Universities of Cambridge and Southampton and the Nuclear AMRC to bring their concept of green rocket technology in the form of fusion propulsion to fruition.
The aim of Pulsar Fusion is to one day use nuclear fusion to create hypersonic rocket technology. The sun and stars have been generating enormous amounts of energy through nuclear fusion for eons.
According to Pulsar Fusion's press release, "While nuclear fusion may be the solution to the energy dilemma, it is also the solution to in-orbit satellite management and deep space exploration. According to [Pulsar], fusion propulsion is the only means by which humans will ever be able to leave the solar system in our lifetime.
The goal of scientists everywhere is to use nuclear fusion to produce energy on Earth, but this goal has not yet been achieved. Before achieving its ultimate goal, Pulsar Fusion may have to wait for improvements in this technology, but it could also increase efforts to develop commercially viable nuclear fusion technologies.
The company also produces a variety of rocket engines. These include the largest and most powerful electric spacecraft engine ever tested in Europe, conducted independently by researchers at the University of Southampton as part of a government-funded project in 2021.
Pulsar Fusion's "green" hybrid rocket engine burns high-density polyethylene (HDPE) fuel, oxygen and nitrous oxide (N2O). The liquid, which is oxidized under controlled pressure, is injected into the combustion chamber through a control valve.
In early November 2021, the company successfully tested its engine at the Cranfield Ordnance Test and Evaluation Centre (COTEC), a military facility operated by the UK Ministry of Defence in Salisbury, Wilts. This follows the successful completion of a global demonstration for aerospace customers in Switzerland.
"Pulsar has built and tested the most powerful electric propulsion engines in Europe," said Dr. James Lambert, Head of Operations at Pulsar.
"Combining this part of our propulsion portfolio with nuclear fission reactor technology is a perfect fit for the company's capabilities and I am delighted that this has been recognized by the UKSA.
The project will help us build relationships and gather important data that will contribute to our longer-term ambitions for nuclear fusion propulsion."
In addition, Pulsar Fusion received funding from the UK government in September last year to support the development of its Mach-7 Hall Effect Thruster (HET) plasma satellite engines, which have particle exhaust velocities of 20 km/s. The company hopes to test its engines in space in the near future.
A nuclear fusion rocket prototype is something the British rocket company has previously said it hopes to create by 2025.
According to its latest press release, the company is confident that it can create the "fusion-based infrastructure and propulsion technologies" needed to enable nuclear fusion rockets "in less than four years".
If it succeeds, the technology could be brought to Earth, changing both the way we travel through space and the way we generate energy on Earth.
