Submitted by Gari_305 t3_10lqmtt in Futurology
Comments
phoenix1984 t1_j5ywsq8 wrote
Thinking about this application in space. Is this efficient enough to run continuously on a journey to Mars? 4,000 lbs of thrust, would that provide some mild gravity to passengers on board? Enough to mitigate health challenges to traveling passengers?
NotShey t1_j5z6awx wrote
Can't know any of that without more information. We don't know the thrust-to-weight ratio for instance.
In general though, no chemical rocket is going to be able to be run continuously for the weeks and months it would take to travel to mars. You do your burn, then you coast. Optimizing the rocket is about squeezing percentage points of efficiency out of the fuel you carry. In order to do a continues burn, even for a short trip to the moon, much less mars, you would need something MUCH more fuel efficient than any chemical rocket. Nuclear possibly, or an ion drive.
Gari_305 OP t1_j5zukrh wrote
>In order to do a continues burn, even for a short trip to the moon, much less mars, you would need something MUCH more fuel efficient than any chemical rocket.
Rotary Detonation Engines are fuel efficient. Here's a youtube video that goes into further detail into the matter.
SandAndAlum t1_j60vqpz wrote
> Thinking about this application in space. Is this efficient enough to run continuously on a journey to Mars? 4,000 lbs of thrust, would that provide some mild gravity to passengers on board? Enough to mitigate health challenges to traveling passengers?
No. Nothing chemical powered will do this, nor will nuclear thermal systems with a solid core or known electric systems.
Rockets that directly eject fission or fusion products might.
[deleted] t1_j6009h8 wrote
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Gari_305 OP t1_j5yc6gy wrote
From the article
>As NASA takes its first steps toward establishing a long-term presence on the Moon’s surface, a team of propulsion development engineers at NASA have developed and tested NASA’s first full-scale rotating detonation rocket engine, or RDRE, an advanced rocket engine design that could significantly change how future propulsion systems are built.
Also from the article
>The RDRE achieved its primary test objective by demonstrating that its hardware – made from novel additive manufacturing, or 3D printing, designs and processes – could operate for long durations while withstanding the extreme heat and pressure environments generated by detonations. While operating at full throttle, the RDRE produced over 4,000 pounds of thrust for nearly a minute at an average chamber pressure of 622 pounds per square inch, the highest pressure rating for this design on record.