NASA has reached a significant milestone in the development of an innovative propulsion system known as the Rotating Detonation Rocket Engine (RDRE). A team of engineers at NASA’s Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Alabama, has successfully conducted a groundbreaking test on a 3D-printed RDRE, which lasted for 251 seconds and generated over 5,800 pounds of thrust.

According to Thomas Teasley, the lead engineer for the RDRE test at the center, this sustained burn duration replicates the requirements for a lander touchdown or a deep-space burn that could propel a spacecraft from the Moon to Mars. The test, conducted in collaboration with In Space LLC and Purdue University, both based in Lafayette, Indiana, aims to understand how to scale the combustor to different thrust classes. This will support various engine systems and expand the range of missions the RDRE can serve, including landers, upper stage engines, and supersonic retropropulsion, a technique for decelerating larger payloads or even humans on the Martian surface.

A video captured at NASA’s Marshall Space Flight Center showcases the ignition of a full-scale RDRE combustor, which achieved a record-breaking 251-second burn and produced over 5,800 pounds of thrust. Teasley emphasized that the RDRE represents a significant advancement in design efficiency, bringing us closer to developing lightweight propulsion systems that can transport larger payloads deeper into space. This is a crucial element of NASA’s Moon to Mars vision.

NASA’s Glenn Research Center in Cleveland and Venus Aerospace of Houston, Texas, are collaborating with NASA Marshall to explore ways to enhance the technology’s performance and scalability.