Von Studenten gebauter Raketenmotor feuert 20.000 rotierende Schüsse pro Sekunde ab
https://interestingengineering.com/space/rotating-rocket-engine-with-20000-blasts
Von Studenten gebauter Raketenmotor feuert 20.000 rotierende Schüsse pro Sekunde ab
https://interestingengineering.com/space/rotating-rocket-engine-with-20000-blasts
3 Kommentare
A student team (Project Pegasus) from ETH Zurich’s Academic Space Initiative Switzerland (ARIS) has successfully test-fired a liquid-fueled Rotating Detonation Rocket Engine (RDRE). This achievement places these third-year students in an elite global group; currently, only about a dozen countries have successfully demonstrated similar liquid-fueled RDRE technology.
Unlike traditional rocket engines that rely on standard combustion (deflagration), RDREs use continuous, rotating detonation waves traveling through a circular combustion chamber. During their recent nighttime test at the Dübendorf Air Base, the student-built engine successfully generated 20,000 stable detonations per second using a mixture of propane and liquid oxygen.
**Why this matters for the future of spaceflight:**
* **Massive Efficiency Gains:** Fuel currently accounts for 80% to 90% of a rocket’s total launch weight. RDREs extract energy from fuel much more efficiently than conventional engines. Widespread adoption could drastically reduce launch costs or allow future spacecraft to carry significantly heavier payloads into orbit without increasing the size of the rocket.
* **Advanced Manufacturing:** The team utilized metal 3D printing to manufacture critical engine components, including the compact copper combustion chamber. This highlights how additive manufacturing is making complex aerospace engineering more accessible.
* **Next-Gen Propulsion:** The RDRE concept is currently one of the most highly sought-after propulsion technologies, actively being researched by major agencies like NASA and JAXA for deep space and lunar missions.
It is incredibly encouraging to see university students successfully validating hardware that could shape the next generation of orbital and deep-space transport, proving that you don’t need decades of aerospace experience to push the boundaries of propulsion.
“You don’t need to be exceptionally talented to develop a rocket engine after two years of study,”
That line was the one that stood out the most and I don’t know how I feel about it or if I can even agree with it.
Everyone knows someone that’s been working on something or practiced something for over two years and still has a long ways to go to be good and those things are litterally not rocket science.
The fact this was student-built is honestly the most impressive part. Rotating detonation engines are incredibly difficult because you’re basically trying to sustain controlled continuous explosions in a stable loop without the whole system tearing itself apart.
If this technology matures, the potential efficiency gains for aerospace are pretty huge since RDEs can theoretically extract more useful energy than traditional combustion designs.
Feels like one of those areas where university research could genuinely influence future propulsion systems instead of just staying academic.