Engineers at NASA's Marshall Space Flight Center, Alabama, are developing a lightweight, low-cost pulse detonation rocket engine. It could be used for upper stages to boost satellites into their operational orbits and on planetary spacecraft or landers requiring softer touchdowns using throttled engine control. Component testing began in April using a small initiator tube 100mm (4in) long, with hot firing lasting up to 10s. The engine operates on a varied controlled pulse detonation by injecting propellants into long cylinders at high pressure, eliminating the need for turbopumps used on conventional engines.
Source: Flight International
