Jaw-Dropping Video Shows Concept for Fusion Rocket That Might Halve Mars Travel Time

Over the past decade, a U.K.-based nuclear propulsion startup has been working behind the scenes to develop a fusion rocket that could cut flight time to Mars in half. This week, it unveiled the concept in a striking new video. The Sunbird Migratory Transfer Vehicle, designed by Pulsar Fusion, would be capable of reaching 329,000 miles per hour (over 529,000 kilometers per hour), the company claims. This would make it the fastest self-propelled object ever created, drastically reducing space travel time. Unlike current rockets that launch from terrestrial bases, Sunbirds would be stored on giant orbital docking stations each designed to host up to five at a time, Richard Dinan, CEO of Pulsar Fusion, told Gizmodo in an email. In the video, one of these rockets undocks from its station and uses its eight thrusters to gently attach to a larger spacecraft (the video portrays what appears to be a SpaceX Starship upper stage), then propel it to a faraway planet. Picture a jet pack, but fo ... Read full article.