AUSTIN (KXAN) — A new space company is coming to Central Texas. United Kingdom-based Pulsar Fusion announced plans last month to open its U.S. headquarters in Austin.
The company develops propulsion systems for spacecraft. In Austin, they plan to develop nuclear fusion-powered engines, called Sunbird. They hope to test them in space in 2027.
“We found that there’s just a really great environment in Austin, a lot of space people that we know are there, and it’s in a community that we really hope to be a part of,” said Richard Dinan with Pulsar Fusion.
The move comes as the space industry continues to expand in Texas.
On Friday, July 25, the Texas Space Commission announced a $9.7 million grant to three groups, including Houston-based ILC Astrospace and the City of Midland. In May, the Space Commission gave $10 million to Austin-based Cesium Astro.
The grants, provided through the Space Exploration & Aeronautics Research Fund (SEARF), are part of an ongoing investment by the state to grow the space program.
In 2023, the Texas state legislature approved the creation of the Texas Space Commission and $150 million to provide grants to businesses, nonprofits and government entities to boost space exploration and research programs.
So far, the Texas Space Commission has awarded over $126 million in grants, according to its website.
Nuclear fusion in space
Pulsar Fusion’s Austin project, Sunbird, aims to create a new type of engine for space travel.
“On the outset, it’s wild, right? He’s talking about a nuclear fusion, which is hard enough, and then doing it in space seems completely, almost too exciting,” said Dinan.
According to the company, individual fusion propulsion systems will be docked to a space station in Earth orbit. Spaceships would launch from Earth, then connect with the individual propulsion systems in space. The fusion rockets would then propel the spaceship to Mars or Jupiter.
“Nuclear fusion propulsion is an incredibly real, potentially even nearer-term objective than fusion energy,” Dinan said.
The company is still scouting locations for its future Austin headquarters. They plan to announce details in the coming months.
“It’s a major endeavor… we’re just not geared up for it in the UK,” Dinan said. “If it stands a chance, it’s going to be with the capabilities and the community and in the Austin area.”