IT House reported on 14/0 that in the field of space exploration, Elon Musk's SpaceX has been committed to breaking through boundaries, however, a British startup called Pulsar Fusion is also carrying out an ambitious plan to develop a nuclear fusion-powered rocket called "Sunbird".

According to IT House, nuclear fusion technology has been the focus of research by the world's top scientists, and over the years, despite some progress and breakthroughs, humans have not been able to successfully replicate the nuclear fusion process inside stars on Earth. Richard Dinan, CEO and founder of Pulsar Fusion, said in an interview with CNN: "Nuclear fusion on Earth is very unnatural. Nuclear fusion is difficult to achieve in an atmospheric environment, and space is a more reasonable and sensible place to do nuclear fusion, because nuclear fusion takes place in space in the first place. ”

Although the "Sunbird" is still in the early stages of construction and there are still many challenges ahead, Pulsar Fusion has already planned an orbital demonstration in 2027. furthermore核聚變動力火箭有望使航太器達到每小時 80.5 萬公里的速度, which is faster than the Parker Solar Probe, the fastest object currently made by man, with a maximum speed of 2.0 million kilometers per hour. If fusion-powered rockets can be put into service,It will be possible to halve the time to travel to Mars and reach Pluto in just four years.

How will Sunbird shorten interplanetary travel time? Unlike traditional chemical rockets, such as Starships, the Sunbird does not operate independently, but will be attached to larger spacecraft to help them complete interstellar voyages. "We'll launch them into space, and we'll set up a charging station for them to dock, and then they'll dock with your spacecraft," Dinan told CNN. Ideally, we'd have a station near Mars and a station in Earth's low orbit, and then have 'Sunbird' go back and forth between the two. ”

He also mentioned that the first "Sunbirds" will be used to deliver satellites in orbit, but they can also deliver payloads weighing up to 2000 kg to Mars in as little as six months.

However, there are still significant technical challenges to turning fusion-powered rockets into reality. Due to the large size and weight of these systems, it may be difficult for companies like "Sunbird" to lightweight and miniaturize them.

In addition to Pulsar Fusion, companies like Helicity Space and General Atomics are also developing fusion reactors, which are supported by Lockheed Martin and NASA, respectively, and are scheduled to be tested in 2027.