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Nuclear Space Engine Competes with SpaceX Starship · Elon Musk Podcast

• 0:00
  Hi everybody, and welcome back to the show.
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  Spacex's Starship is the most groundbreaking rocket system
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  that's ever happened to humanity.
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  But Elon Musk. SpaceX relies on a chemical
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  propulsion system for its Starship spacecraft, utilizing a
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  mix of liquid oxygen and methane as fuel.
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  Now in contrast, British startup Pulse, Our Fusion is venturing
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  into a radical new direction in the field of aerospace
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  engineering, developing a nuclear fusion rocket engine.
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  Now this technology aims to fuse 2 lighter atoms together to
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  create a heavier atom, releasing an enormous amount of energy in
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  the process. And the result of this?
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  It's a journey to Mars that could potentially be completed
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  in half the time currently achievable by Spacex's Starship.
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  Furthermore, Pulsar Fusion is pioneering the use of artificial
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  intelligence in the realm of space propulsion technology.
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  Collaborating with Princeton Satellite Systems, Pulsar Fusion
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  is using machine learning simulations to predict and
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  control the behavior of super heated plasma under
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  electromagnetic confinement, an essential part of their fusion
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  based engine. Now while SpaceX has made
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  significant strides under Musk's leadership, Pulsar Fusion's
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  innovative approach could revolutionize our understanding
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  of interplanetary travel. Now, don't go away just yet.
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  We'll be right back with more fascinating insights into the
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  future of space travel after this quick commercial break.
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  An ambitious British startup is breaking new ground in the
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  aerospace sector with a game changing approach to space
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  propulsion. A Pulsar fusion is at the
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  forefront of developing a nuclear fusion rocket engine
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  that could potentially have the journey time to Mars.
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  Based in Bletchley, England, Pulsar Fusion is committed to
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  developing a propulsion system that can reach speeds upwards of
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  500,000 mph or 805,000 kilometers per hour, and it will
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  endure the most scorching temperatures in the solar
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  system. At the heart of this venture
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  lies nuclear fusion. This is the same reaction that
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  powers our sun and gives it is tremendous energy.
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  Nuclear fusion is a process within two lighter atoms
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  combined under high temperature and pressure conditions to form
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  a heavier atom, releasing huge amounts of energy in the
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  process. The scientists globally have
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  lauded the potential of this near limitless 0 carbon energy
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  source as the potential successor to fossil fuels.
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  Ironically, the applications of nuclear fusion as a game changer
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  in our quest for cleaner energy might first be demonstrated in
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  the depths of deep space before we can fully harness it on our
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  home planet of Earth. Now space is the ideal
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  environment for fusion with its vacuum conditions and the
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  extreme cold, says Richard Dinan, the CEO of Pulsar Fusion.
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  He said contrary to a ground based fusion power station,
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  fusion propulsion for space doesn't require an enormous
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  steam turbine. And if you can be sourced
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  externally rather than being manufactured on site, Dinan
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  plans to channel this energy directly into the engine to
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  achieve propulsion, a goal he believes is attainable within a
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  short timeline of just about four years.
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  And the technical challenges are immense.
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  But the team at Pulsar Fusion remains undeterred.
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  The primary challenge lies in successfully confining the Super
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  heated plasma within an electromagnetic field, explains
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  Doctor James Lambert, chief Financial officer at Pulsar
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  Fusion. He adds the plasma behaves much
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  like a weather system, unpredictable and hard to
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  control under conventional techniques.
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  Now, as the plasma heats up to hundreds of millions of degrees,
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  your reaction simply ceases due to the turbulence.
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  However, recent scientific breakthroughs have propelled
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  this concept closer to reality. In December and milestone was
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  reached with the first fusion reaction that produced more
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  energy than it took to initiate, a feat hailed as one of the most
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  impressive scientific achievements of the 21st
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  century. Now, encouraged by these
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  advances and the promise of artificial intelligence, Pulsar
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  Fusion is collaborating with Princeton Satellite Systems
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  based in the US, to simulate and predict plasma behavior under
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  electromagnetic confinement. These AI guided machine learning
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  simulations will inform the rocket engines design process
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  and Pulsar Fusion's roadmap includes demonstrating that the
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  rocket can achieve fusion temperatures by 2027.
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  If successful, this would represent a significant step
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  towards the world's first commercially viable fusion based
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  engine, they said. Our technology could have
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  mission times to Mars and reduce the flight time to Saturn from 8
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  years to just two. Ultimately, it could empower
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  humanity to venture beyond our solar system.
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  We're going to be shifting our focus to X or Twitter.
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  Let's call it Twitter for now. Twitter's freshly minted X
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  symbol has hastily removed from its San Francisco headquarters
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  on Monday, following city official stern reproach for its
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  unpermitted installation. The massive attention grabbing
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  sign set high above Twitter's building began to flash its
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  presence last week, part of the social media giants latest
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  rebranding effort. So the San Francisco Department
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  of Building Inspection cited the company after receiving a flurry
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  of 24 complaints, flagging concerns about the structure
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  safety in the glare of its intense illumination.
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  City regulations demand a building permit for the
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  insulation and even the dismantling of such a sign, a
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  stipulation overlooked by Twitter.
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  Yet due to immediate safety concerns, the removal was
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  permitted to proceed, as confirmed by Patrick Hannon, the
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  department spokesperson to NPR. Now the conflict comes on the
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  heels of sweeping changes announced by Twitter just last
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  week. The removal, which came less
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  than three days after an initial visit by a city inspector to
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  Twitter's headquarters on Friday, indicates escalating
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  tensions between the tech company and the city.
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  The inspector responding to the city's complaint was called to
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  evaluate the controversial rooftop signs adherence to city
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  codes. The company's response was less
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  than accommodating, with a Twitter representative denying
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  the inspector access. The representative, however,
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  stated that the structure was a temporary lighted sign for an
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  event, only to be countered by the inspectors firm declaration
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  that an unpermitted signage must be taken down.
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  Repeated attempts at inspection were met with continued
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  resistance. The second visit to the
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  headquarters on Saturday resulted in another denied
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  request for rooftop access. Twitter as of yet has not
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  responded for requests for comment.
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  Elon Musk, the current Twitter owner, however, offered a cheeky
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  response to a tweet claiming San Francisco authorities were
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  attempting to strong arm the removal of the X sign.
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  Musk replied with a laughing, crying emoji, a dismissal of the
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  ongoing drama. Now, this isn't the first
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  encounter of regulatory friction of Twitter in recent days.
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  The company faced reprimands from San Francisco with city
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  officials last Monday for removing its original signage,
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  which featured its name and I Bluebird logo, without securing
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  the necessary permits. Furthermore, the city criticized
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  the company for neglecting pedestrian safety measures such
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  as sectioning off the sidewalk during the removal process.
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  The current clash underscores A fraught relationship between the
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  social media Titan and it's host city as it embarks on its bold
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  new rebranding journey. Thank you so much for listening
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  to the show today and I appreciate all of you and all of
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  your time. So please, if you could take a
• 7:28
  second and hit the subscribe button or the follow button on
• 7:31
  whatever podcast platform you're on right now, that would really
• 7:34
  help out the show and help me continue to do these.
• 7:37
  So thanks again. Take care of yourselves and each
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  other and I'll see you in the next one.