NASA Successfully Tests a Revolutionary New Engine

More then 70 years ago, Engineers had the idea to power a rocket engine with explosions, an idea which later became known as the rotating detonating engine (or RDE)
But don't all rockets rely on detonations?
To appreciate the innovation behind RDE's, we need to take step back and understand what traditional rocket engines are doing, and how that differs from a detonation.
In a rocket engine such as the raptor, fuel and oxidizer are mixed and burned at subsonic speeds, creating a steady flow of gas that expands and exits through the nozzle, propelling the rocket forward. Detonations are undesirable due to their rapid, uncontrolled release of energy, which could cause mechanical failure or catastrophic damage.
Detonations are typically caused by irregularities in the fuel and oxydier. To address this, scientists went to great lengths to optimized the distribution and size of injector holes to ensure propellants mixed thoroughly.
However, some engineers wondered, what if instead of preventing detonations they used them? Theoretically detonations can burn fuel up to 5% more efficiently then traditional engines, and while this may not seem like a lot, these savings can add up.
Consider the Falcon 9 - Space X's mainstay rocket. It weighs about 22,000 KG, however when fully loaded with propelent it weighs over 430,000 KG. In other words fuel equals more then 90% of the rockets weight and saving 5% of that fuel means the rocket can significantly increases the amount of payload that can be put into orbit.
So if a RDE has so many benefits, why aren't we using them today?
RDE's work by sending a detonation spiralling around a central spike that propels it towards the rocket nozzle, and in order to harness this explosive energy, Scientists faced three key challenges:
1. They needed a way to send enough waves of detonations around the spike for sustained thrust, without canceling eachother out. This required precise timing
2. They needed a material for the central spike with a high enough melting point to withstand the intense heat and pressure.
3. They needed a way to cool the spike for longer duration burns as even the most hardy of materials would need to dissipate heat at some point or melt.
When the concept for RDE's was first idiated, Scientists had neither the materials, computing power, or the scientific understanding of fluid dynamics in order to address those issues.
Until now.
In 2023, engineers at NASA's Marshall Space Flight Center successfully tested a 3D-printed RDE, achieving sustained detonation and demonstrating the engine's potential for future missions. Key to this success has been the development of novel materials, like NASA's GRCop-42 copper alloy, designed to endure the extreme conditions within the RDE. Additionally, advancements in additive manufacturing has enabled the creation of complex light components with internal channels which can have cooled propelent pumped through them, pulling heat away from the engine.
These advancements represent a significant leap forward in propulsion technology. By overcoming critical challenges, NASA is unloacking more possibilities in space exploration. As we continue to refine RDE technology, we move closer to a future where missions to Mars, the asteroid belt, and beyond could become more feasible and frequent.

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