Storable RBCC Propulsion System

Physical Sciences Inc. (PSI) will develop and demonstrate a rocket based combined cycle (RBCC) propulsion system using a rotating detonation rocket engine (RDRE) to widen the vehicle flight envelope and reduce system weight and length. The RDRE will offer a compact, efficient rocket component to enhance combustion of the airbreathing combustor. The team will evaluate the performance of the RBCC system in air augmented rocket mode, quantifying the entrainment of air flow induced by the RDRE. PSI will also address thermal management risks by demonstrating long-duration tests of a RDRE with storable liquid propellants, using water calorimetry to measure heat flux. Using knowledge gained from water calorimetry tests, the effort will culminate with dual regeneratively cooled hotfire tests to be completed within the Phase II program. Inner bodies and outer bodies for the RDRE will be additively manufactured (AM) at PSI using in-house metal AM capabilities, and hotfire tests will be conducted at PSI’s existing RDE and RDRE test cells in Epping, NH. A successful Phase II program, followed by post-Phase II development, will enable a reusable hypersonic vehicle without a solid rocket booster and without the logistical challenges of cryogenic propellants.