Fusion-Powered Spacecraft Could Be Just a Decade Away.

I would expect this will have civilian applications.

Fusion-powered spacecraft may not be just a sci-fi dream for much longer.

The Direct Fusion Drive (DFD) engine could take flight for the first time in 2028 or so, if all goes according to plan, the concept's developers said.


That would be big news for space fans; the minivan-size DFD could get a 22,000-lb. (10,000 kilograms) robotic spacecraft to Saturn in just two years, or all the way out to Pluto within five years of launch, project team members said. (For perspective: NASA's Cassini mission made it to Saturn in 6.75 years, and it took the agency's New Horizons probe 9.5 years to get to Pluto.)
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