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breakingnews:

Scientists work on fusion rocket for Mars

NBC News: Researchers at the University of Washington say they’ve built all the pieces for a fusion-powered rocket system that could get a crew to Mars in 30 days.

“If we can pull off a fusion demonstration in a year, with hundreds of thousands of dollars … there might be a better, cheaper, faster path to using fusion in other applications,” John Slough, a research assistant professor of aeronautics and astronautics, told NBC News. …

Timetables for the advent of fusion energy applications have repeatedly shifted to the right, reviving the old joke that the dawn of the fusion age will always be 30 years away.

Photo: An artist’s conception shows a spacecraft powered by a fusion-driven rocket. (UW / MSNW)

Beyond making further evaluation of the powered airframe configuration, the pilots also tested the nitrous loading and venting system while SpaceShipTwo was still on the pylon where it attaches to WhiteKnightTwo, the four-engine aircraft that will carry the ship skyward. Nitrous oxide is used as the oxidizer for SpaceShipTwo’s solid fuel rocket engine and this first test of the system is a major step on the way to igniting the rocket for powered flight. The pilots also engaged the “feather” system during the most recent flight, which effectively folds the aircraft allowing it to slow down during reentry from suborbital space. (via Here’s the Coolest Photo Yet of SpaceShipTwo in Flight | Autopia | Wired.com)