this post was submitted on 04 Jan 2024
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312
NASA Successfully Tests Revolutionary Rocket That Could Get Us to Mars Faster (www.sciencealert.com)
submitted 10 months ago by [email protected] to c/technology
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 10 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] 38 points 10 months ago* (last edited 10 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.

[–] RangerAndTheCat 24 points 10 months ago (1 children)

Wankel and Mazda shine blessings upon you and your RX family

[–] Cocodapuf 2 points 10 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!

[–] Agent641 24 points 10 months ago

Thank you I was running low on clicks.

[–] [email protected] 16 points 10 months ago (2 children)

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

[–] c0mbatbag3l 4 points 10 months ago (1 children)

My bet's on Heinlein.

[–] ikidd 1 points 10 months ago

I'd put money on Robert Forward.

[–] T156 1 points 10 months ago

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

[–] Donebrach 12 points 10 months ago

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

[–] LazaroFilm 11 points 10 months ago (1 children)

So they invented the rocket powered wheel?

[–] [email protected] 29 points 10 months ago

Revolutionary

I see what they did there.

[–] [email protected] 24 points 10 months ago* (last edited 10 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?

[–] SkybreakerEngineer 6 points 10 months ago

You know what gets even better ISP? NERVA

[–] [email protected] 6 points 10 months ago (2 children)

Should be the rotating detonation engine.

[–] [email protected] 3 points 10 months ago (1 children)

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

[–] [email protected] 1 points 10 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] 3 points 10 months ago (1 children)

Video is here (3 years old)

[–] [email protected] 1 points 10 months ago

Here is an alternative Piped link(s):

here

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

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

[–] Ejh3k 4 points 10 months ago

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

[–] Desistance 3 points 10 months ago (2 children)

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

[–] SCB 9 points 10 months ago* (last edited 10 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 10 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.

[–] danielbln 4 points 10 months ago (1 children)

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

[–] SCB 2 points 10 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.

[–] TIMMAY 2 points 10 months ago (1 children)

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

[–] SCB 2 points 10 months ago* (last edited 10 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.

[–] c0mbatbag3l 3 points 10 months ago

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