Fusion Propulsion

Fear of Fusion: What if It Works?

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(This article from the LA Times was published in 1989, and has been posted here 26 years later) LA Times April 19, 1989| PAUL CIOTTI | Times Staff Writer When two scientists announced last month in Utah that they had achieved room-temperature nuclear fusion, the news shot through the halls of science like a scalded … Read more

Fusion fuel cycles: What they are and how they work

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VisionOfEarth BY BEN HARACK – NOVEMBER 10, 2010 Contents 1 Proton-Proton Chain 2 CNO Cycle 3 Deuterium-Deuterium (D-D)‏ 4 Deuterium-Tritium (D-T) 5 Deuterium-3Helium (D-He)‏ 6 p-11B 7 Muon-catalyzed fusion As part of our series on nuclear fusion power, this post is going to look at fusion fuel cycles. Fusion fuel cycles are the different ways … Read more

MagLIF with DT cryo layer could achieve ten thousand times net gain nuclear fusion and it would be very good for fusion space propulsion

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NextBigFuture.com The cheapest, smallest reactors will emerge from the so-called magneto-inertial fusion (MIF) parameter space. This physics regime is a hybrid between the low density magnetic confinement and beyond solid density inertial confinement. Many of the smallest proposed fusion propulsion systems are in fact MIF systems, consistent with this recent study. (The Case and Development … Read more

Aneutronic Nuclear Fusion Reactor + Engine Proposal

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Here is some brief theory behind Aneutronic Fusion, a form of nuclear fusion which produces no harmful neutron radiation, eliminating the need for heavy shielding in energy plants and spacecraft engines. The reaction can be initiated under a picosecond laser pulse which is aimed at a metal target producing protons which can fuse with Boron … Read more

China is going to mine the Moon for helium-3 fusion fuel

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extremetech.com By John Hewitt on January 26, 2015 China’s Chang’e lunar probe dynasty is already having a great year. The Chang’e 3 lunar lander surpassed all expectations last week to emerge from its 14th hibernation while the Chang’e 5-T1 just completed its transfer from the Earth-Moon Lagrange Point 2 into a stable orbit around the … Read more

Nuclear Fusion Rocket Could Reach Mars in 30 Days

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space.com April 10, 2013 A concept image of a spacecraft powered by a fusion-driven rocket. In this image, the crew would be in the forward-most chamber. Solar panels on the sides would collect energy to initiate the process that creates fusion. Credit: University of Washington, MSNW Nuclear fusion, the energy source that fuels the sun … Read more

PJMIF as a Primary Propulsion Driver for Project Icarus

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This is the video of a talk given by Dr. Sava Patilala at the 62nd International Astronautical Congress, in Cape Town, South Africa in 2011. He discusses project Icarus, which is to get a vehicle to the sun from the earth. The project proposes to use PJMIF to power the engines. download the video