Nuclear fusion propulsion. Do I have your attention? Probably ... after all, we need to get to places like Mars, and beyond, faster than on the current chemical rockets. There are now actually some startups working on nuclear fusion propulsion and one of them, Princeton Satellite Systems, are our guests this week. Enjoy!
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Timestamps:
0:00 Intro
2:07 Elevator pitch
3:34 Future of space propulsion
5:13 Current state of fusion
10:16 Magnetic fusion
13:24 The FRC
16:47 Power budget
18:46 Terrestrial power generation use case
22:23 The Moon
25:03 What is left to do on the tech side
29:47 Timeline
31:01 Safety
33:15 In-space propulsion
36:44 NASA's past nuclear projects
37:54 Timing for prototype in space
42:43 Biggest obstacles
45:56 Beyond the current fusion engine proposal
