The Direct Fusion Drive (DFD) engine could propel a 22,000-lb. robotic spacecraft to Saturn in a mere 2-years instead of 6.75-years, or way out to Pluto within 5-years of launch rather than 9.5-years. Plus, since the engine doubles as a potent power source, it could have a broad range of off-Earth applications too, like to help power NASA’s future moon-orbiting space station, called Gateway. “DFD is different from other fusion-reactor concepts,” said Stephanie Thomas, vice president of Princeton Satellite Systems in Plainsboro, New Jersey.
The DFD’s interior will be filled with a magnetically contained hot plasma of helium-3 and deuterium, a unique ‘heavy’ hydrogen with one neutron in its nucleus. The fusing plasma heats the cool propellant that flows outside the confinement area. This propellant is directed out of a nozzle at the back of the engine, creating thrust. All that heat translates into a lot of electricity, which Thomas estimates to be between 1 and 10 megawatts. The DFD will harness that power, using a ‘Brayton cycle’ engine to turn much of the heat into energy.
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