First large-scale test of NASA's rotary detonation engine

Sending more payload to Mars while consuming less energy combined with lightweight propulsion systems is the perfect equation that NASA seeks to solve. Among its development programs around this long space flight, the organization has just tested the endurance of a rocketrocket Rotary blasting (RDE). The motor, which was 3D printed, underwent a one-minute test last year. The new test was conducted in Marshall Space Flight Center This time, NASA is relying on a real-sized engine that runs for 251 seconds. This is the amount of time he would need for a real mission.

The space agency explains that the new engine achieved a thrust of more than 26 kilonewtons. The thrust level is still lower than it plans in the long term, as it intends to reach 44 kN for the operating system. A rotary rocket engine is nothing new. GE Aerospace has just developed an engine hybridhybrid Equipped with a system close enough to drive a PlanesPlanes The speed exceeds the speed of sound.

Video of NASA's rotary detonation engine test. © NASA

25% energy saving

Using this technique, small explosions are created inside the tube by mixing the same fuel and… OxidizedOxidized From a standard rocket engine. These explosions are self-sustaining and spread continuously around the channel. With this process, the theoretical energy yield will be 25%. This technology would make missiles more efficient, but it also has a drawback: less stability than conventional systems, and therefore difficulties in control.

So the process is still far from operational, even if going from a one-minute-running prototype to a four-minute-running full-size engine in one year is already an amazing step forward. This type of engine is already being tested, and NASA is also working on other engine concepts, such as a nuclear-powered rocket that could make it possible to reach Mars in just 45 days.