this post was submitted on 04 Jan 2024
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309
NASA Successfully Tests Revolutionary Rocket That Could Get Us to Mars Faster (www.sciencealert.com)
submitted 7 months ago by [email protected] to c/[email protected]
41 comments fedilink hide all child comments
 

After setting foot on the Moon, the next destination for humankind is Mars, which presents a whole new set of challenges in speedy, long-distance space travel.

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[–] [email protected] 172 points 7 months ago (5 children)

It's a Rotating Detonation Rocket Engine"

What makes the RDRE so revolutionary is that it makes use of a sustained detonation circling around a ring-shaped channel, fed by a mix of fuel and oxygen which is ignited by each passing explosion.
Crucially, the RDRE uses less propellant fuel than conventional rocket engines, and is simpler in terms of its machinery and mechanisms. That means going into space becomes cheaper, and traveling further distances becomes possible.

Saved you a click.

[–] [email protected] 36 points 7 months ago* (last edited 7 months ago) (1 children)

NASA invented a space ship powered by a rotary engine? Noice, at least until the apex seals give out, but they should be good for 80k at least.

[–] [email protected] 24 points 7 months ago (1 children)

Wankel and Mazda shine blessings upon you and your RX family

[–] [email protected] 2 points 7 months ago

The wankel and rdre aren't really related, but they're similar in that they're both oddball engines with surprising performance.

Of all of my near future rocket engine predictions, a working aerospike rdre was not on my list... I'm honestly very impressed!

[–] [email protected] 24 points 7 months ago

Thank you I was running low on clicks.

[–] prole 16 points 7 months ago (2 children)

That sounds sick. I wonder which sci-fi author came up with this idea ~60 years ago.

[–] [email protected] 4 points 7 months ago (1 children)

My bet's on Heinlein.

[–] [email protected] 1 points 7 months ago

I'd put money on Robert Forward.

[–] [email protected] 1 points 7 months ago

Maybe the Jetsons, or the turbine engines in Star Wars? If you squint hard enough, it comes close enough.

[–] [email protected] 12 points 7 months ago

So it’s truthfully Revolutionary, hark! A spinning engine

[–] [email protected] 11 points 7 months ago (1 children)

So they invented the rocket powered wheel?

[–] [email protected] 28 points 7 months ago

Revolutionary

I see what they did there.

[–] [email protected] 24 points 7 months ago* (last edited 7 months ago) (2 children)

This is a fancy aerospike engine right? The rotating detinations gives it higher chamber pressure and therefore better ISP or something?

I will look for the Scott Manley video on this later (I think it was him?) Edit: also a Real Engineering one that explains the aero-spike nozzle

Anyone have the ISP of this experiment to compare to other engines?

[–] [email protected] 6 points 7 months ago

You know what gets even better ISP? NERVA

[–] Ghyste 6 points 7 months ago (2 children)

Should be the rotating detonation engine.

[–] [email protected] 3 points 7 months ago (1 children)

Video is here (3 years old)

[–] [email protected] 1 points 7 months ago

Here is an alternative Piped link(s):

here

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[–] [email protected] 3 points 7 months ago (1 children)

Real engineering also did one (actually better than Scott's I think)

[–] [email protected] 1 points 7 months ago

Here is an alternative Piped link(s):

one

Piped is a privacy-respecting open-source alternative frontend to YouTube.

I'm open-source; check me out at GitHub.

[–] [email protected] 4 points 7 months ago

I remember first hearing about the development of this back in the early 90s on Beyond 2000.

[–] [email protected] 3 points 7 months ago (2 children)

I heard that the destination is actually Venus because it's closer and has oxygen in the upper atmosphere.

[–] [email protected] 9 points 7 months ago* (last edited 7 months ago) (2 children)

Venus is significantly more hostile than Mars, so while we definitely want to do more with Venus, Luna and Mars are clear next-ups for manned landings.

While all of Mars is hostile to human life, Venus is also incredibly hostile to equipment, and thus requires a different approach to even unmanned launches.

Current maximum lifetime for any unmanned craft in the Venusian atmosphere (to say nothing of the ground) is only about 2 hours.

[–] [email protected] 5 points 7 months ago

Venus is interesting. While the surface is extremely hostile, the upper atmosphere is maybe the most similar to Earth-like environment out there in the solar system. At about 50km up in the air, the air pressure is about 1 Earth atmosphere, and the ambient temperature is about 20C. A 80/20% nitrogen-oxygen gas mixture is buoyant too at that depth, so a balloon filled with breathable air will just float. A rupture won't cause explosive decompression like it would on Mars either. In addition, the gravity one would experience is only very slightly less than that of Earth, and the large atmosphere also provides some shielding against radiation.

Mars doesn't have these perks. Mars is cold, really cold, with only 1/3rd of the gravity of Earth, has practically no radiation shielding, and any breach would cause explosive decompression and almost instant unconsciousness. On top of that, regular solar panels really don't work that well on Mars because of the extra distance from the Sun, while solar panels would actually work better in the upper atmosphere of Venus.

[–] [email protected] 4 points 7 months ago (1 children)

Isn't that on the surface? I believe Venus's upper atmosphere is a lot more welcoming.

[–] [email protected] 2 points 7 months ago (1 children)

That's true about their upper atmosphere, but we're nowhere close to being able to capitalize on it (as in, no missions even planned). Closest we've got on paper is an orbiter by the early 30s.

Hopefully in my lifetime we see an upper atmosphere balloon or something. That alone would be unbelievably cool.

[–] [email protected] 2 points 7 months ago (1 children)

give me a hot air balloon and a hang glider and send me out Ill be the pioneer

[–] [email protected] 2 points 7 months ago* (last edited 7 months ago)

Dude what's neat about this is Oxygen on Venus is like Helium on Earth (less dense than most of the atmosphere, so rises naturally) so your balloon doesn't even need to be hot, just really sturdy.

[–] [email protected] 3 points 7 months ago

Theres oxygen on Venus like there's argon on earth, it's so miniscule it's useless.