Just a few days ago, representatives of the American space agency NASA announced the successful testing of a new jet engine capable of flying in deep space. Called the rotary explosion rocket engine (RDRE), it was mounted on a special stand at NASA’s Marshall Space Flight Center to precisely measure its operating parameters and performance.

RDRE engines work using explosive combustion (explosion) of fuel in the compartment. The resulting shock waves travel at supersonic speeds in the circular circulation chamber, where they are accelerated to even higher velocities and are ejected outward, creating jet thrust. Thanks to such an explosive process, a smaller amount of fuel is used to achieve the same thrust compared to conventional engines, but at the same time, the elements of the engine itself have very serious loads.

Note that the RDRE engine tested is only the first prototype. More than a dozen launches were made during its test, and its total run time (4,000 pounds or 1,814 kilograms) at full thrust exceeded 10 minutes. This engine uses industrial 3D-printed parts from a special GRCop-42 alloy that can successfully withstand the high temperatures and pressure drops created by the explosive combustion process.

Calculations by NASA experts show that spacecraft with RDRE engines can carry more payloads into deep space using less fuel. It is quite possible that the RDRE engines will be what will bring the first humans to Mars and enable the construction of the first lunar spaceport as part of the Artemis program.

And, having successfully tested the first prototype of the RDRE engine, NASA experts have already begun development of a larger and more powerful reusable version that can deliver 10,000 pounds or 4,536 kilograms of jet thrust. This second engine will also be used to test its performance and compare it to the performance of conventional liquid jet engines.