BEGIN:VCALENDAR VERSION:2.0 CALSCALE:GREGORIAN PRODID:UW-Madison-Physics-Events BEGIN:VEVENT SEQUENCE:1 UID:UW-Physics-Event-9836 DTSTART:20261026T170000Z DTEND:20261026T180000Z DTSTAMP:20261104T064116Z LAST-MODIFIED:20261019T103831Z LOCATION:2241 Chamberlin Hall SUMMARY:A Dipole Approach to Fusion Power in Space\, Plasma Physics (P hysics/ECE/NE 922) Seminar\, Edward Hinson\, Zephyr Fusion DESCRIPTION:Access to power beyond tens of kilowatts remains a central constraint on activity in space. Numerous mission architectures studi ed in detail for microgravity manufacturing\, human habitation\, and p ropulsion\, among others\, call for power at the megawatt scale and ab ove. However\, the largest power systems in orbit are solar arrays ope rating at the 100 to 200 kW level\, on crewed\, government-operated pl atforms. Because array power scales with collecting area\, arrays beco me impractically large at megawatt power levels. At the megawatt scale and above\, the remaining options are nuclear. Fission systems at the few-kilowatt electric level have flown\, and megawatt-class designs h ave been studied\, but fission carries regulatory and programmatic ris k. Fusion has received comparatively little study as a space power sou rce.
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\nFusion plasmas in space do not need to be as compact\, or as high power as is customary in magnetic fusion\, though launched components are bound by fairing volume and mass. For some magnetic co nfigurations\, the space environment can provide access to a large mag netized vacuum volume at low marginal cost. Zephyr Fusion is developin g a superconducting dipole as the basis for a megawatt-class fusion po wer system in space.
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\nThe talk outlines the requirements and advantages specific to a fusion system in the space environment\, alo ng with Zephyr Fusion's development path\, including the partnerships assembled in its first year and an orbital superconducting magnet demo nstration targeted for 2028.
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\nBio: Edward Hinson is co-found er and CEO of Zephyr Fusion\, a Y Combinator company based in San Dieg o\, California. He received his Ph.D. in Nuclear Engineering and Engin eering Physics from the University of Wisconsin-Madison in 2015. URL:https://www.physics.wisc.edu/events/?id=9836 END:VEVENT END:VCALENDAR