Watch NASA test potentially revolutionary 3D-printed rocket engine

Space.com ^ | 01/27/2023 | Elizabeth Howell

[BenLurkin]

NASA completed a round of testing last year with the "rotating detonation rocket engine," which generates thrust using fuel-saving supersonic combustion, agency officials wrote(opens in new tab) in an update on Wednesday (Jan. 25).

Those tests were very early-stage, but agency officials say that future iterations of the technology could be used on moon or Mars missions, for robotic probes or crewed landers.

Expanding humanity's footprint across the solar system will require a fundamental rethink of how we approach long-distance travel, with both fuel and time, exploration advocates say.

Getting to Mars with current propulsion technology takes six to nine months. Slashing the travel time is a priority for NASA, which wants to make the trip more efficient and safer for astronauts. For example, the agency is working with DARPA to develop one possible superfast option, nuclear thermal propulsion, with the goal of demonstrating such a system in space by 2027.

The rotating detonation rocket engine could be part of the agency's exploration toolkit someday as well. In the recent tests, the engine was hot-fired on a stand at NASA's Marshall Space Flight Center in Alabama more than 12 times, adding up to almost 10 minutes of total firing duration.

[minnesota_bound]

Soon at home or a cafeteria near you. Print your dinner.

[backwoods-engineer]

NASA < SpaceX.