Interplanetary travel might be about to get a whole lot faster — and hotter. 

UK startup Pulsar Fusion today unveiled “Sunbird,” a nuclear fusion-powered rocket concept that could halve the time it takes to travel across our solar system — and, maybe, beyond it. 

Machine learning models show the rocket could potentially propel a spacecraft with a mass of about 1,000kg (2,200lb) to Pluto in four years — less than half the time it took NASA’s New Horizons mission, which was powered by regular ion thrusters. Earth to Mars? Four months. Earth to Saturn? Two years.  

Rather than launch from Earth each time, several Sunbirds would be “docked” in low-Earth orbit, ready to attach to spacecraft and propel them deeper into the cosmos.

Sunbird would be fitted with a Duel Direct Fusion Drive — a compact nuclear fusion engine which could provide both thrust and electrical power for spacecraft. 

Pulsar started building the engine in 2023 at a site in Milton Keynes, England. Static tests are slated to begin in 2025 followed by an “In Orbit Demonstration” (IOD) of the core technology components in 2027, the company said. When fired, the engine could temporarily become the hottest place in the solar system, creating exhaust speeds of more than 500,000mph (804,672km/h).