Japan first tests rotary detonation engine in space

In a world first, the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) announced on August 19 that it had successfully demonstrated the operation of a “rotary detonation engine” in space, with the aim of expanding the method of propulsion to deep space travel in the future.

The “impossible” engine uses rotating explosions inside an annular channel. This method generates a large amount of super-efficient thrust from a considerably smaller engine that uses less fuel, and it has the potential to be a game-changer.

Rotary detonation engine tested in space

The revolutionary system was mounted on the S-520-31, a single-stage rocket capable of lifting a payload of 220 lbs (100 kg) well above 186 mi (300 km), and launched from the space center from Uchinoura on July 27. The demonstration was a resounding success.

The rocket began testing after separation from the first stage, firing the rotary detonation engine for six seconds. When the rocket was retrieved from the ocean after the demonstration, it was discovered that the rotary detonation engine was producing around 500 Newtons of thrust.

To put that in context, SpaceX’s large Falcon Heavy cargo lifting rocket, for example, has three cores of nine Falcon 9 engines whose 27-Merlin engines together generate over 5 million pounds of lift-off thrust. This equates to approximately eighteen 747 planes. So while it’s fair to say that the rotary detonation engine is in its infancy, JAXA engineers believe that the successful test in space proves that such engines can allow us to achieve interplanetary navigation. higher using less fuel and weight, which will be critical as humanity contemplates new homes around the cosmos.

Japan hopes to put the technology into practice within five years, according to a statement last month by Jiro Kasahara, a Nagoya University professor who collaborates with JAXA on the technology, according to the Japan Times.

Overall, rotary detonation engines have the potential to reduce rocket payload weight, lower launch costs, and propel us to the stars, which is why Japan is not the only country. trying to design them. In 2020, a team of researchers announced that they had built and successfully tested an experimental model of a rotary detonation engine in collaboration with the US Air Force.

The engine design was reportedly evaluated as a possible replacement for Aerojet Rocketdyne’s RL-10 rocket, and researchers said the U.S. Air Force is aiming for a rocket launch flight test by 2025.