In 2022, tests of a non-traditional rocket engine were conducted at the Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Alabama. The engine, called a Rotating Detonation Rocket Engine, is predicted to be 25% more efficient than today’s rocket engines, producing more power while using less fuel and requiring fewer components. The hardware used in the test, which was 3D printed, operated more than a dozen times for a period of almost 10 minutes. At full power, the engine produced more than 4000 pounds of thrust for almost one minute at an average chamber pressure of 622 pounds per square inch. That’s the highest pressure ever recorded for this design.
A detonation is a combustion process where the flame front moves faster than the speed of sound in the material that is burning. A set of four pulse detonation engines were flown on a test aircraft in 2008 (see picture at right). Each engine pulsed at 20 times per second. These pulse engines, however, cycle on and off and do not produce a constant thrust. A somewhat technical explanation of the detonation process is here.
In the 1950s through 1970s, Professor Arthur Nicholls at the University of Michigan College of Engineering was very active in detonation physics. He was one of the first developers of rotating detonation engines. The US Air Force and US Navy are building and testing prototypes. A team at the University of Central Florida, working with the Air Force, built an engine in 2020 that produced 200 pounds of thrust successfully and sustained that thrust until the fuel was cut off, something that was previously thought to be impossible.
Rotating detonation engines have been pure theory until recently. Now it appears that they are ready to move from the drawing board to the launch pad, reducing the cost of sending payloads into space, possibly just in time to be included in a future mission to Mars. These are truly exciting times!
Reference:
A Rotating Detonation Engine Would Revolutionize Rocket Launches – Popular Mechanics
NASA Validates Revolutionary Propulsion Design for Deep Space Missions – NASA
Rotating detonation engine – Wikipedia
ROTATING DETONATION ROCKET ENGINES (RDRE) – Air Force Research Lab
Rotating Detonation Rocket Engine Test at Marshall Space Flight Center – NASA
What Is A Rotating Detonation Engine – And Why Are They Better Than Regular Engines – Scott Manley
World-first “impossible” rotating detonation engine fires up – New Atlas
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THIS WEEK IN STAR TREK HISTORY
28 January
1944 – Susan Howard is born.
1959 – Stephen F. Windon is born.
1972 – Gillian Vigman is born.
2020 – Marj Dusay dies.
29 January
1919 – Jim Rugg is born.
30 January
1918 – David Opatoshu is born.
1934 – Alan Bernard is born.
1941 – Gregory Benford is born.
1946 – Jerry Sroka is born.
1962 – Abdullah bin al-Hussein is born.
1983 – Mack Reynolds dies.
2008 – Herb Kenwith dies.
2019 – Dick Miller dies.
31 January
1927 – Norm Prescott is born.
1929 – Jean Simmons is born.
1947 – Jonathan Banks is born.
1951 – Cristine Rose is born.
1976 – Paul Scheer is born.
1977 – Bobby Moynihan is born.
2001 – Diane Warren receives her Hollywood Walk of Fame star.
2007 – Lee Bergere dies.
1 February
1934 – Paul Carr is born.
1942 – Bibi Besch is born.
1954 – Bill Mumy is born.
2013 – Robin Sachs dies.
2 February
1933 – Tony Jay is born.
1949 – Brent Spiner is born.
1958 – Paul Hill is born.
1974 – Oz Perkins is born.
2005 – UPN announces that Star Trek: Enterprise will be canceled following the end of its fourth season. The cast and crew is notified of the decision while filming ENT: “In a Mirror, Darkly, Part II“.
2010 – Star Trek Online is officially released in North America.
3 February
1923 – Richard L. Jefferies is born.
1925 – John Fiedler is born.
1947 – Stephen McHattie is born.
1970 – Matt Winston is born.
TODAY’S HUMOR
The United Federation Starfleet Blog is written by Fleet Captain Hal Jordan and is published every Friday. Join in the discussion! Engage with us on Discord at: discord.io/ufstarfleet
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