NASA ontwerpt revolutionaire voortstuwing voor Deep Space Missions

Rotary Detonation Rocket Engine of RDRE Hot Fire Test in het Marshall Space Flight Center. Krediet: NASA

Leuk vinden[{” attribute=””>NASA takes its first steps toward establishing a long-term presence on the Moon’s surface, a team of propulsion development engineers at NASA have developed and tested NASA’s first full-scale rotating detonation rocket engine, or RDRE, an advanced rocket engine design that could significantly change how future propulsion systems are built.

The RDRE differs from a traditional rocket engine by generating thrust using a supersonic combustion phenomenon known as a detonation. This design produces more power while using less fuel than today’s propulsion systems and has the potential to power both human landers and interplanetary vehicles to deep space destinations, such as the Moon and Mars.

ingenieurs binnen NASA Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Alabama, en hoofdmedewerker IN Space LLC, gevestigd in West Lafayette, Indiana, bevestigen de gegevens van RDRE-hetebrandtests die in 2022 zijn uitgevoerd in het Eastern Marshall Test Area. De motor werd meer dan tien keer afgevuurd, in totaal bijna 10 minuten.

RDRE heeft zijn primaire testdoel bereikt door aan te tonen dat zijn apparaten – gemaakt met nieuwe additive manufacturing, of 3D-printen, ontwerpen en processen – gedurende langere perioden kunnen werken en bestand zijn tegen de extreme hitte en drukomgevingen die worden gegenereerd door explosieven. De RDRE werkte op volgas en produceerde meer dan 4.000 pond stuwkracht gedurende ongeveer een minuut bij een gemiddelde kamerdruk van 622 psi, de hoogste drukwaarde ooit voor dit ontwerp.

Rotary Detonation Rocket Engine of RDRE Hot Fire Test in het Marshall Space Flight Center. Krediet: NASA

RDRE bevat door NASA ontwikkeld koper[{” attribute=””>alloy GRCop-42 with the powder bed fusion additive manufacturing process, allowing the engine to operate under extreme conditions for longer durations without overheating.

Additional milestones achieved during the test include the successful performance of both deep throttling and internal ignition. This successful demonstration brings the technology closer to being used with future flight vehicles, enabling NASA and commercial space to move more payload and mass to deep space destinations, an essential component to making space exploration more sustainable. Because of NASA’s recent success with the RDRE, follow-on work is being conducted by NASA engineers to develop a fully reusable 10,000-pound class RDRE to identify performance benefits over traditional liquid rocket engines.

Thrust propulsion testing and characterization of the University of Central Florida rotating detonation rocket engine is shown in this photo. NASA provided funding for a UCF project focused on rotating detonation rocket engines, which use high-energy explosions to produce more energy with less fuel, improving engine efficiency and cutting down space travel costs and emissions. Credit: UCF

RDRE is managed and funded by the Game Changing Development Program in NASA’s Space Technology Mission Directorate.