Creating a fusion engine for spacecraft represents one of the paramount objectives currently facing Russian researchers, according to the President of the Kurchatov Institute National Research Centre.
MOSCOW, March 17. /TASS/. The fusion engine being developed in Russia for space vehicles promises to slash travel times to other planets by orders of magnitude. This assertion was made by Mikhail Kovalchuk, President of the Kurchatov Institute National Research Centre.
He emphasized that engineering a thermonuclear (plasma) propulsion system for space exploration is among the highest priorities set for the nation’s scientific community.
“This breakthrough will enable us to reduce voyage durations to distant planets by tens of times, ushering in an era of routine cargo transport and making crewed deep-space missions feasible. A key aspect of this technology involves employing an open trap configuration for plasma confinement,” Kovalchuk stated, as quoted in a release from the research centre’s press service.
The precursor model for this apparatus was successfully built at the Kurchatov Institute, following which the development work was subsequently transferred to the Budker Institute of Nuclear Physics SB RAS, he specified.
The 53rd International Conference on Plasma Physics and Controlled Nuclear Fusion—the largest gathering in Russia for experts in fusion technologies—commenced in Zvenigorod the day before. The primary entities organizing this event are the state corporation Rosatom, the Kurchatov Institute National Research Centre, and the Russian Academy of Sciences.
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