Leonard David's INSIDE OUTER SPACE

The target chamber of Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory’s National Ignition Facility.
Image credit: Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory

The announcement this week of fusion ignition is a major scientific advance, one that is decades in the making. More energy was produced than the laser energy used to spark the first controlled fusion triumph.

The result: replicating the fusion that powers the sun.

Broad implications

The nuclear fusion feat has broad implications, fueling hopes of clean, limitless energy. As for space exploration, one upshot from the landmark research is attaining the long-held dream of future rockets that are driven by fusion propulsion.

Physicist Fatima Ebrahimi in front of an artistic rendering of a fusion rocket.
Image credit: Elle Starkman, Princeton Plasma Physics Laboratory Office of Communications

But is that prospect still a pipe dream or is it now deemed reachable? If so, how much of a future are we looking at?

For a look at possible answers, go to my new Space.com story  — “Nuclear fusion breakthrough: What does it mean for space exploration? – Some scientists say nuclear fusion propulsion is inevitable. But how far away is it, given recent breakthroughs?” – at:

https://www.space.com/nuclear-fusion-breakthrough-spacetravel