AI‑Guided Space Propulsion

Machine learning and reinforcement learning are being used to both design and operate advanced propulsion systems—optimizing nuclear thermal reactor geometry, hydrogen heat transfer, and fusion plasma confinement in ways humans did not foresee. These AI‑driven control and design loops are moving from simulation into lab and prototype hardware, promising faster, higher‑thrust systems. — If AI materially shortens development cycles for nuclear/ fusion propulsion, it will accelerate interplanetary missions, change defense and industrial priorities, and require new safety, export‑control and regulation regimes.