As satellite constellations and space debris continue to crowd the orbital zone above Earth, researchers are looking for ways to prevent the problem from growing. According to one research team, one solution could involve using physical rockets to fuel their own launches.
Collaborators at the University of Glasgow say: Debuts the first successful, unsupported autophage (Means “self-eating” in Latin) A prototype rocket engine.It was revealed earlier this week American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics SciTech ForumOuroboros 3 is named after the ancient Egyptian symbol of a serpent eating its own tail and uses its own body as an additional fuel source. Video of the test shows Ouroboros 3 shrinking in length as the aircraft burns out during a mock launch.
Today’s conventional rockets store fuel in separate stages, and when they run out of fuel, it’s released and either burns up on entry into the atmosphere or becomes another piece of space junk in orbit. Ouroboros 3’s sole mission is to launch a small, unpiloted payload into orbit, leaving little trace behind when it completes its mission.
After an initial ignition using a main propellant consisting of gaseous oxygen and liquid propane, Ouroboros 3’s high-density polyethylene plastic tube exterior adds thrust as the rocket continues to burn. The case provided one-fifth of the total propellant needed, just as the candle flame consumed the wax. In test firings, Ouroboros 3 produced as much as 100 newtons of thrust.
“The structure of a conventional rocket accounts for 5 to 12 percent of its total mass. Our tests have shown that Ouroboros 3 can burn almost as much of its own structural mass as propellant,” said Glasgow. said Patrick Harkness, professor and project leader in the university’s School of Engineering. stated in a statement Early this week. “If at least some of that mass can be utilized for payloads, it would be an attractive prospect for future rocket designs.”
Subsequent tests also demonstrated how the team could control the autophage rocket’s combustion, allowing it to restart, pulse in an on-off pattern, or slow down.
“These results represent a fundamental step toward the development of a fully functional autophage rocket engine.” Harkness continued.
[Related: The FCC just dished out their first space junk fine.]
Although still an early prototype, the team hopes to expand future iterations of Ouroboros 3 to the extent that it can support delivering payloads, such as microsatellites, into orbit without further disturbing the atmosphere.talk to gizmodo Harkness on Thursday intends to beef up its autophage rocket by about two orders of magnitude, but more than that probably won’t be needed as deliveries will likely be limited to relatively small payloads.
Still, autophage rockets could one day offer the space industry an alternative to the expensive and messy problems of existing designs. Besides that, anything that helps avoid triggering Kessler’s chain is definitely good news.
