Even a fusion reaction that generates more power than it takes to start it is useless if the infrastructure needed to sustain the reaction degrades in months and the energy required to replace it is greater than the net output.
true. that’s why it needs to be deuterium-He3 to be worth it. you remove the neutron saturation of the reactor vessel which should theoretically lead to longer lasting reactors. so you get the durability plus the stream of protons that can directly drive a dynamo or funneled into an MHD generator or something.
but in the end this requires lunar excursions to grab up He3. honestly i have a suspicion this is one of the reasons behind the new Moon race, especially after China grabbed a sample on the dark side that proved the He3 was plentiful and encapsulated in crystals.
