How NASA Reinvented the Rocket Engine

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Credits:
Writer/Narrator: Brian McManus
Writer: Josi Gold
Editor: Dylan Hennessy
Animator: Mike Ridolfi
Animator: Eli Prenten
Sound: Graham Haerther
Thumbnail: Simon Buckmaster
References:
[1] “Increasing engine efficiency,” Aerospace America, Apr. 30, 2018. . aerospaceamerica.aiaa.org/dep...
[2] “Falcon 9 - SpaceFlight Insider.” . www.spaceflightinsider.com/ha...
[3] “Current State of NASA Continuously Rotating Detonation Cycle Engine Development,” in AIAA SCITECH 2023 Forum, American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics. arc.aiaa.org/doi/abs/10.2514/...
[4] “Computational Study of Deflagration to Detonation Transition in Pulse Detonation Engine Using Shchelkin Spiral,” Appl. Mech. Mater. www.scientific.net/AMM.772.136
[5] “A Theoretical Review of Rotating Detonation Engines | IntechOpen.” . www.intechopen.com/chapters/7...
[6] “Rotating detonation combustors and their similarities to rocket instabilities,” Prog. Energy Combust. Sci. www.sciencedirect.com/science...
[7] “Gaillard et al. - 2017 - Numerical simulation of a Rotating Detonation with.pdf.” . hal.science/hal-01558902/docu...
[8] “Teasley et al. - 2021 - A Review Towards the Design Optimization of High P.pdf.” . ntrs.nasa.gov/api/citations/2...
[9] “Pressure Distribution and Performance Impacts of Aerospike Nozzles on Rotating Detonation Engines,” in 2018 AIAA Aerospace Sciences Meeting, Kissimmee, Florida, Jan. 2018, doi: 10.2514/6.2018-1626. arc.aiaa.org/doi/10.2514/6.20...
[10] “Effect of Aerospike Plug Nozzle Design on Rotating Detonation Engine Performance for Rocket Applications | AIAA SciTech Forum.” . arc.aiaa.org/doi/abs/10.2514/...
[11] “観測ロケットS-520-31号機による深宇宙探査用デトネーションエンジン宇宙実証実験に成功,” 宇宙科学研究所. . www.isas.jaxa.jp/topics/00269...
[12] “NASA RDRE For Release to AIAA Teasley ER13.pdf.” . ntrs.nasa.gov/api/citations/2...
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Thank you to AP Archive for access to their archival footage.
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[@RealEngineering]

Watch the next episode of Real Engineering 2 weeks early with this link:

[@treymoore6901]

I’m a minute in to this video and can’t tell if it was intentionally published on April 1 or not…

[@sfoti6973]

The best April Fool's day video is a completely normal video that makes the viewer question everything the entire time.

[@SugarFreeEngineering]

Excellent video; I actually did my Master's research and published a paper on GRCop-42 in partnership with NASA. It's a fascinating material and has a ton of promise. We looked at 3D printing it using high-pressure cold spray deposition, bonding it with another super alloy called HR-1, and doing many experiments with various ways to heat treat them. I'd be happy to answer any questions, and link my article or video of the my presentation. Either way, this video made my day and certainly brought a smile to my face. Thanks for the great work!

[@CinemaDemocratica]

"Sir we've got a problem with explosions happening in the combustion chamber."

[@RahulAhire]

Saw the M1 abram tank video. Your animation have come a long way from blue graph paper design to now realistic 3D renders. I really loved it

[@Penultimeat]

When you started describing the needs for the injectors, I new you were gonna mention Tesla Valves! Very cool that they have some palpable practical use case.

[@bencabot3165]

This video was really cool to watch! I work in a lab with one of the guys who designed the NASA RDE, and one of my other coworkers is cited here, it's awesome to see detonation combustors getting some more attention on TH-cam!

[@Hyo9000]

They have progressed so much, omg! I’m hyped to possibly see a RDE being used for space missions during my lifetime. Thanks for the video ❤

[@TheImmortuary]

Its didnt look like the area under the curve was that much different, but then I realised the x axis was logrithmic.

[@thepilotman5378]

It's actually crazy that I watched the full version of SmarterEveryDay with the Saturn V walkaround and they spent a lot of time discussing the engine baffels and problems before hand. Stuff like this proves there is another way to do things. re-inventing the wheel is sometimes the way to go!

[@kaitlyn__L]

Thank you very much for explaining how this integrates the aerospike nozzle. I saw it in the test units, and wondered if this was actually the next phase in the aerospike research they were doing a couple decades ago, or whether this was something totally different. I can now see it’s kind of both - you could do an aerospike engine without rotating detonation, but as you point out they are natural partners.

[@johnslugger]

We researched this in 1982 when working at Aerojet/Rocketdyne and they are very LOUD engines (((())). We also dropped lead pellets into the flow and come up with a hybrid machine-gun that shot 25,000 rounds of .30 Cal. per second at 3100 feet per second. The US Navy still thinks this type of "Detonation Gun" could take down hyper-sonic war heads by creating a near solid wall of high speed flying lead or ceramic pellets.

[@zemperus1639]

Another 3D printed, Oxide-dispersed (ODS) sintered composite alloy named GRX-810 is also developed for NASA. Very cool stuff, material engineering.

[@clapetto]

I need to make a small correction: at

[@yaseen157]

How exciting! I was fortunate enough to work on a detonation research project for my master's thesis at university. It took us something like 7 different tests over a month long test campaign to finally get a detonation, very finnicky stuff!

[@THE-X-Force]

This was incredibly well presented and explained. I learned a lot. Thanks for the great video!

[@Tron-Jockey]

Did anyone else notice that that design of the special inlet/injector valves (referred to as fluid diodes), shown at

[@CHMichael]

Tesla valve - it's amazing what 3d printing has done so far and the possibilities we can't even imagine today.

[@csbanki]

Those nozzle explanations were amazing. Simple and very effective, well done!