This archive report was first published on 15 October 2019.
On October 15, 2019, a groundbreaking proposal was made by David Burns, an engineer at NASA's Marshall Space Flight Centre in Alabama, to create a fuelless engine that could propel spacecrafts at speeds of up to 99% the speed of light.
The ambitious device, known as the 'helical engine,' defies a basic law of physics by producing thrust without expelling propellants. According to Burns, the engine would use a particle accelerator and ion particles to generate thrust, but the basic principle remains the same.
Speaking to New Scientist, Burns said,
