NASA has successfully tested a new type of rocket engine that could one day get us to Mars quicker.
The engine, called the Rotating Detonation Rocket Engine (RDRE), uses a new way of burning fuel to produce thrust.
Instead of burning fuel in a continuous stream, the RDRE detonates it in a series of explosions, as shown in a new video.
This is meant to create a more efficient and powerful burn, which could propel spacecraft to Mars in as little as four months.
Typically, it takes current engines around six months to reach the Red Planet.
However, this innovative method achieves 25,810 newtons (or 5,800 pounds) of thrust for 251 seconds.
That beats the previous record of 17,800 newtons of thrust for nearly a minute in 2022.
Eventually, the goal is to create a fully reusable 44-kilonewton class of the 3D-printed engine.
Another goal is to better understand how to scale the combustor to different thrust classes.
In turn, this could support engine systems of all types and maximize the variety of missions it could serve.
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Nasa tested the RDRE recently at its Marshall Space Flight Center in Alabama.
The RDRE’s first hot fire test was performed at Marshall in the summer of 2022 in partnership with In Space LLC and Purdue University.
The engine is still in the early stages of development, but it has the potential to revolutionize space travel.
“The RDRE enables a huge leap in design efficiency,” said combustion devices engineer Thomas Teasley, who is leading the RDRE project.
“It demonstrates we are closer to making lightweight propulsion systems that will allow us to send more mass and payload further into deep space, a critical component to NASA’s Moon to Mars vision.”
If it can be successfully scaled up, it could not only power spacecraft to Mars and the Moon, but even beyond.
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Jona Jaupi
