Pulsar Fusion has pledged to launch its nuclear fusion reactors into orbit by 2027. Nuclear fusion is the energy process that powers the stars which scientists have been scrambling to create on Earth to produce unlimited supplies of low-carbon, low-radiation energy. The Betchley-based company is hoping to harness that power in space by launching its reactors, which are needed for its revolutionary green rockets.
As fusion rocket technology only works in the vacuum of space, Pulsar has had to develop hybrid rocket engines which it is hoping will be used for interplanetary travel in the near future.
But to keep advancing its technology, which it has made headway developing and has tested in successful launches, the company is going to need some help.
Pulsar Fusion CEO Richard Dinan told Express.co.uk: “There is no shortage of talent in the UK.
“What there is a shortage of is companies with this hardware. We buy two rocket engines from two countries and we find that we are just alone in doing it.”
But that looks set to change.
Mr Dinan said: “We are starting conversations with a Swiss university called ETH, which has got some incredible minds.
“The Swiss have been so brilliant with this and have let us do rocket tests on their runway.”
Pulsar tested one of its hybrid rocket engines on Swiss soil back in November.
Pulsar’s green (non-toxic) hybrid rocket engine, which combusts nitrous oxide (N2O) oxidiser and high-density polyethylene (HDPE) fuel and oxygen, was blasted from the snowy mountain town of Gstaad.
Mr Dinan said that the launch was a “technological milestone”.
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It recently completed more tests of its hyper-speed propulsion engines, which could even slash the journey time from Earth to Mars by half, is helping Pulsar make some ground.
The latest blasts took place at the Westcott Space Cluster’s National Space Propulsion Test Facility on March 15 and 16, were
The first prototype for its propulsion engine is now expected by 2025 and could one day be launched from a nuclear fusion reactor.
Mr Dinan, said: “This is truly a groundbreaking moment taking place on British soil and could be the first innovative steps to transforming not only modern space travel but also how this planet consumes its energy.”