Editing Fusion rocket (section)

=== Inertial ===
The main alternative to magnetic confinement is [[inertial confinement fusion]] (ICF), such as that proposed by [[Project Daedalus]]. A small pellet of fusion fuel (with a diameter of a couple of millimeters) would be ignited by an [[electron beam]] or a [[laser]]. To produce direct thrust, a [[magnetic field]] forms the pusher plate. In principle, the Helium-3-Deuterium reaction or an [[aneutronic fusion]] reaction could be used to maximize the energy in charged particles and to minimize radiation, but it is highly questionable whether using these reactions is technically feasible. Both the detailed design studies in the 1970s, the [[Orion drive]] and Project Daedalus, used inertial confinement. In the 1980s, [[Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory]] and NASA studied an ICF-powered "Vehicle for Interplanetary Transport Applications" (VISTA). The conical VISTA spacecraft could deliver a 100-tonne payload to [[Mars]] orbit and return to Earth in 130 days, or to Jupiter orbit and back in 403 days. 41 tonnes of deuterium/[[tritium]] (D-T) fusion fuel would be required, plus 4,124 tonnes of hydrogen expellant.<ref name="interplanetary">{{cite conference |title=Interplanetary Space Transport Using Inertial Fusion Propulsion |last1=Orth |first1=C. D. |conference=9th International Conference on Emerging Nuclear Energy Systems |location=Tel Aviv |date=20 April 1998 |publication-date=July 1998 |id=UCRL-JC-129237 |publisher=[[Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory]] |url=http://www.boomslanger.com/images/istuifp.pdf |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111215124046/http://www.boomslanger.com/images/istuifp.pdf |archive-date=15 December 2011 |url-status=dead |access-date=4 September 2011 }}</ref> The exhaust velocity would be 157&nbsp;km/s.

The very large necessary mass and the challenge of managing the heat produced in space may make an ICF reactor unworkable in space travel.<ref name=":0" />