Engineers at NASA have tested the space agencys first full-scale rotating detonation rocket engine, or RDRE, which could change the future of propulsion.
Unlike a traditional rocket engine, the RDRE uses a “detonation,” a supersonic combustion phenomenon. The RDRE is designed to produce more power with less fuel, and could potentially be used for human landers and interplanetary vehicles.
A video released Wednesday by NASA shows RDRE hot fire tests conducted in 2022 at the East Test Area of Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Ala. Engineers at NASA and primary collaborator IN Space LLC are confirming data from those tests, NASA said in a statement. The engine was fired more than a dozen time for a total duration of nearly ten minutes.
The test successfully demonstrated the operability of the RDREs 3D-printed hardware, under 4,000 pounds of thrust at an average chamber pressure of 622 pounds per square inch, the highest recorded pressure rating for this design, NASA said.
The space agency says the demonstration brings the technology closer to being used in flight vehicles for future missions to the moon and Mars.
