Space startup Astrobotic put its rotating detonation rocket engine (RDRE) to the test for the first time, demonstrating a potentially groundbreaking technology that generates thrust by supersonic combustion.
Astrobotic completed a series of hot-fire tests on two engine prototypes at NASA’s Marshall Space Flight Center in Alabama. Each engine produced more than 4,000 pounds of thrust (1,800 kilograms) for a combined 470 seconds of total runtime, including a single 300-second burn.
The recent demonstration brings the private space industry one step closer to a more efficient rocket propulsion system that could allow crewed landers to travel to deep space
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