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NASA Successfully Tests Revolutionary Rocket That Could Get Us to Mars Faster (www.sciencealert.com)

submitted 10 months ago by Hypx@kbin.social to c/technology@lemmy.world

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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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[-] anonionfinelyminced@kbin.social 168 points 10 months ago

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.

[-] ramjambamalam@lemmy.ca 37 points 10 months ago* (last edited 10 months ago)

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@lemmy.world 24 points 10 months ago

Wankel and Mazda shine blessings upon you and your RX family

[-] Cocodapuf@lemmy.world 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@lemmy.world 24 points 10 months ago

Thank you I was running low on clicks.

[-] prole@sh.itjust.works 16 points 10 months ago

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

[-] c0mbatbag3l@lemmy.world 4 points 10 months ago

My bet's on Heinlein.

[-] ikidd@lemmy.world 1 points 10 months ago

I'd put money on Robert Forward.

[-] T156@lemmy.world 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@lemmy.world 13 points 10 months ago

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

[-] LazaroFilm@lemmy.world 11 points 10 months ago

So they invented the rocket powered wheel?

[-] firecat@kbin.social 1 points 10 months ago

No, it’s just gas powered car that still needs tanks and has everyone knows a around trip back to anywhere requires gas. The “ECO” of space travel.

[-] snugglesthefalse@sh.itjust.works 15 points 10 months ago

And how else are you going to move things in space? Are you hiding a reactionless drive over there? Less fuel use is a good thing.

[-] firecat@kbin.social 2 points 10 months ago

We don’t have unlimited fuel, rockets cost too much fuel. It’s not even normal fuel either, it’s rare chemistry rocket technology that takes a while to develop.

[-] snugglesthefalse@sh.itjust.works 5 points 10 months ago

Alright so nobody's going to stop launching rockets realistically, there's too much potential in space to just ignore, rdre are a way to do the same with less.

[-] Morphit@feddit.uk 26 points 10 months ago

Revolutionary

I see what they did there.

[-] Nighed@sffa.community 23 points 10 months ago* (last edited 10 months ago)

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@lemmy.world 6 points 10 months ago

You know what gets even better ISP? NERVA

[-] Ghyste@sh.itjust.works 5 points 10 months ago

Should be the rotating detonation engine.

[-] Nighed@sffa.community 4 points 10 months ago

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

[-] PipedLinkBot@feddit.rocks 2 points 10 months ago

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[-] Nighed@sffa.community 3 points 10 months ago

Video is here (3 years old)

[-] PipedLinkBot@feddit.rocks 2 points 10 months ago

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[-] Ejh3k@lemmy.world 4 points 10 months ago

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

[+] Shady_Shiroe@lemmy.world 1 points 10 months ago

[deleted]

[-] SonarTaxLaw@lemmy.world 7 points 10 months ago

2km is a measure of distance not speed...

[+] Shady_Shiroe@lemmy.world 2 points 10 months ago

[deleted]

[-] c10l@lemmy.world 6 points 10 months ago

The international standard is km/h.

[-] zergtoshi@lemmy.world 2 points 10 months ago

Why not using SI units and m/s?

[-] c10l@lemmy.world 3 points 10 months ago

km/h is an SI unit.

[-] zergtoshi@lemmy.world 2 points 10 months ago* (last edited 10 months ago)

I'm sorry to be a stickler, but it's not an SI unit.
Have a look at p. 145 and "Non-SI units that are accepted for use with the SI", if you want to know more: https://www.bipm.org/documents/20126/41483022/SI-Brochure-9.pdf/fcf090b2-04e6-88cc-1149-c3e029ad8232?version=1.22

[-] c10l@lemmy.world 2 points 10 months ago

Hey, no need to be sorry. I appreciate the search for correctness and especially the reference document.

Here's what I've found.

There is no mention of km/h in section 4, "Non-SI units that are accepted for use with the SI". It does mention h, making it a "non-SI unit that's accepted for use with the SI."

km/h is its own unit separate from h. It's a unit of speed, derived from km and h.

My gut feel at this point is that km/h could be an SI unit since it's a unit of speed derived from an SI unit for distance and a non-SI unit accepted for use with the SI for time.

Furthermore, searching the document for mentions of km/h, there's this bit on page 127, section 2.1, "Defining the unit of a quantity":

For a particular quantity different units may be used. For example, the value of the speed v of a particle may be expressed as v = 25 m/s or v = 90 km/h, where metre per second and kilometre per hour are alternative units for the same value of the quantity speed.

This paragraph suggests (even though it doesn't outright say it) that km/h is indeed an SI unit.

I haven't found anything clearly saying whether km/h is an SI unit or not. Not on that document, not by searching the web. The research above makes me lean towards the idea that it is one.

If you found otherwise, I'd love to compare notes and learn further.

[-] zergtoshi@lemmy.world 1 points 10 months ago

I see it quite simplistic: if it isn't listed as SI unit by the BIPM it isn't one.
Lending a helping hand on how to deal with derived units (e.g. km/h) doesn't mean those derived units are endorsed as SI units.
But that's just my point of view.

this post was submitted on 04 Jan 2024

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