NASA projeta propulsão revolucionária para missões no espaço profundo

Curti[{” 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.

engenheiros em NASA Marshall Space Flight Center em Huntsville, Alabama, e o colaborador principal IN Space LLC, localizado em West Lafayette, Indiana, confirmam os dados dos testes de fogo quente RDRE realizados em 2022 na Área de Testes de Marshall Oriental. O motor foi acionado mais de uma dúzia de vezes, totalizando quase 10 minutos de duração.

A RDRE alcançou seu principal objetivo de teste ao demonstrar que seus dispositivos – feitos com novos projetos e processos de manufatura aditiva, ou impressão 3D – podem operar por longos períodos enquanto suportam ambientes extremos de calor e pressão gerados pela detonação. Operando em aceleração máxima, o RDRE produziu mais de 4.000 libras de empuxo por cerca de um minuto a uma pressão média da câmara de 622 psi, a classificação de pressão mais alta de todos os tempos para este projeto.

Motor de Foguete de Detonação Rotativa, ou Teste de Fogo Quente RDRE no Marshall Space Flight Center. Crédito: NASA

RDRE inclui cobre desenvolvido pela 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.