Promising fusion approach to advanced space propulsion

A new and promising controlled fusion scheme is proposed as a device that can meet the needs of advanced space propulsion of the early twenty-first century. It is based on a concept that combines the aspects of both magnetic and inertial fusion in that physical containment of the plasma in the target is provided by a metallic shell while its energy is insulated from the walls by an instantaneous, self-generated magnetic field. A quasi one-dimensional, time dependent system of equations is solved to establish the dynamic performance of the plasma and the energy multiplication factory 'Q' is calculated. It is shown that Q-values of several hundred are obtainable which allows the device to produce specific impulses of several thousand seconds and thrusts of several meganewtons. The resulting jet power is shown to be adequate for massive vehicles to make round trips to Mars in reasonable time periods.