Wiktionary
n. 1 (context astronautics English) a rocket engine that uses nuclear fusion reactions for propulsive force 2 (context astronautics English) a spacecraft having a fusion reactor that powers the rocket 3 (context astronautics English) a nuclear-pulse rocket that uses thermonuclear bombs to supply propulsive force
Wikipedia
A fusion rocket is a theoretical design for a rocket driven by fusion power which could provide efficient and long-term acceleration in space without the need to carry a large fuel supply. The design relies on the development of fusion power technology beyond current capabilities, and the construction of rockets much larger and more complex than any current spacecraft. A smaller and lighter fusion reactor might be possible in the future when more sophisticated methods have been devised to control magnetic confinement and prevent plasma instabilities. Fusion power could provide a lighter and more compact alternative.
For space flight, the main advantage of fusion would be the very high specific impulse, and the main disadvantage the (likely) large mass of the reactor. However, a fusion rocket may produce less radiation than a fission rocket, reducing the mass needed for shielding. The surest way of building a fusion rocket with current technology is to use hydrogen bombs as proposed in Project Orion, but such a spacecraft would also be massive and the Partial Nuclear Test Ban Treaty prohibits the use of nuclear bombs. Therefore, the use of nuclear bombs to propel rockets on Earth is problematic, but possible in space in theory. An alternate approach would be electrical (e.g. ion) propulsion with electric power generation via fusion power instead of direct thrust.
Usage examples of "fusion rocket".
I got your name to the top of Astro's personnel list so that Randolph would take you into this fusion rocket program of his.
He had spent the six days of his return voyage in a liaison with the torch ship's propulsion engineer, a delightful young Vietnamese woman of extraordinary beauty who talked about fusion rocket systems between passionate bouts of lovemaking.
With fusion rocket engines, it will be possible to more asteroids and comets around the inner Solar System taking a main-belt asteroid, for example, and inserting it into orbit around the Earth.
The saltwater rocket was nearly as efficient as an old-fashioned fusion rocket.
And the first fusion rocket of major scale, built both for speed and distance.
A few ancient crawlers and rovers and fusion rocket shuttles kept food and information flowing to and from the capital, but to all intents and purposes, the Pax government and military on Mars had come to a standstill.
The ends are flared, possibly to compensate for edge effects, and there are fusion rocket motors in orbit around it, ready for attachment to spin it up to speed.
The screens showed a ring of fusion fire linking black candle flames: fusion rocket motors, forty or more, bright enough to wash out the sensors.
But they were the ones who had made just the same remark about the fusion rocket, the space shuttle, the airplane, the automobile - even the steam locomotive.