NASA diseña propulsión revolucionaria para misiones en el espacio profundo

Motor de cohete de detonación rotatoria o prueba de fuego caliente RDRE en el Marshall Space Flight Center. Crédito: NASA

como[{» 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.

ingenieros en Centro de vuelo espacial Marshall de la NASA en Huntsville, Alabama, y ​​el colaborador principal IN Space LLC, ubicado en West Lafayette, Indiana, confirman los datos de las pruebas de fuego caliente RDRE realizadas en 2022 en el Área de prueba de Eastern Marshall. El motor se encendió más de una docena de veces, por un total de casi 10 minutos de duración.

RDRE logró su principal objetivo de prueba al demostrar que sus dispositivos, fabricados con nuevos diseños y procesos de fabricación aditiva o impresión 3D, pueden funcionar durante períodos prolongados mientras soportan los entornos de calor y presión extremos generados por las voladuras. Operando a toda velocidad, el RDRE produjo más de 4000 libras de empuje durante aproximadamente un minuto a una presión de cámara promedio de 622 psi, la clasificación de presión más alta jamás vista para este diseño.

Motor de cohete de detonación rotatoria o prueba de fuego caliente RDRE en el Marshall Space Flight Center. Crédito: NASA

RDRE incluye cobre desarrollado por la NASA[{» 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.