Russia launches project for engine to catapult spacraft to Solar System's boundaries

A project to design an engine that can bring a spacecraft to the Solar System’s boundaries is currently underway at Russia’s Fakel design bureau, the enterprise’s chief Gennady Abramenkov has told TASS.

"The Fakel design bureau, with scientific guidance of the Kurchatov Institute, is developing a high-power ion thruster," he said. "It will require a nuclear source of power and will be used during interplanetary space missions, with the potential of travelling to the boundaries of the solar system."

According to the official, the project will be a lengthy effort, since it employs previously untested physical principles and processes.

The Fakel design bureau is a Kaliningrad-based company, developing electric propulsion systems. By now, thrusters produced by the enterprise have been installed on more than 700 orbital spacecraft.