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A comprehensive model of the plasma dynamics in MICF and how that translates into the propulsive capability of the system was developed in this Phase I research effort. Using the fundamentals of plasma physics, the time evolution of a fusion plasma generated in a spherical pellet by an incident laser or particle beam is followed from initiation to termination for the purpose of calculating that all important quantity known as the “fusion gain factor Q”. The higher the gain, the larger the energy content of the plasma at the end of the burn, and the larger is the velocity of the plasma particles as they emerge through the magnetic nozzle to produce the thrust. The main feature that distinguishes MICF from other inertial fusion systems is the self-generated magnetic field that serves to thermally insulate the plasma from the metal shell that physically contains it during the burn. Such a field is shown to scale directly with the square root of the plasma temperature and inversely with the spot diameter at the point of beam incidence, and its decay time has a direct bearing on the plasma lifetime in the system. The confinement time is determined by the time it takes the shock wave, initiated at the inner surface of the metal shell at the time of beam incidence, to traverse the thickness of thi