A detonation engine system is successfully demonstrated for the first time in space using sounding rocket S-520-31 of the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency/Institute of Space Astronautical Science. Detailed flight results of an S-shaped pulse detonation engine (PDE) installed in the rocket are presented herein. The flight is conducted to confirm that the PDE and its system operate at scheduled sequences in space, confirm the reproducibility of the PDE cycle, and despin the rocket around its axis. It is confirmed that the PDE operated successfully for 14 cycles in space. The experimental plateau pressure of $2.0 \pm 0.1 MPa$ is $80 \pm 3 %$ of the calculated plateau pressure, which suggests that detonation occurred in 14 cycles. The pressure profiles of the cycles are similar, and the pressure integrals are $2.0 \pm 0.1 kN \cdot s / m^{2}$ , confirming the excellent reproducibility of the PDE cycle. A probability statistical approach assuming a Gaussian distribution is applied to determine the average angular acceleration difference between processes of the PDE operation, mixture supply, and oxygen supply. The results suggested that the PDE despun the rocket via the thrust produced via detonation combustion, which is consistent with a quasi-steady-state model with an accuracy of $101 \pm 15 %$ .

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Acknowledgments

This study was partially supported by the Research-and-Development Grant Program (Engineering) at the Institute of Space Astronautical Science (ISAS) of the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA), titled “Research and Development of an Ultra-High-Thermal-Efficiency Rotating Detonation Engine with Self-Compression Mechanism”; by the Advanced Research Program for Energy and Environmental Technologies of New Energy and Industrial Technology Development Organization; and the Japan Society for the Promotion of Science KAKENHI (grant number 19H05464).

The sounding rocket S-520-31 experiment was carried out at the Uchinoura Space Center in collaboration with the Sounding Rocket Research and Operation Group at the ISAS of the JAXA. The authors express our deep appreciation for the all support by the S-520-31 project team. This research activity was supported by the Committee for Space Engineering of the ISAS, the Detonation Kick-Motor Sounding Rocket Orbit Insertion Working Group, the AIAA Pressure Gain Combustion Technology Committee, and the Committee of the International Workshop on Detonation for Propulsion. The detonation engine system was designed, fabricated, and integrated by NETS, Inc., the Meiji Electric Industries Company, and National Instruments, Ltd. The authors deeply appreciate the contributions for the development of the reentry and recovery module with deployable aeroshell technology for sounding rocket experiment (RATS) by the RATS team. Finally, the authors are also deeply grateful to all the faculty members and students who have supported this project, including the ISAS of the JAXA, and especially Nobuhiro Tanatsugu, Yoshifumi Inatani, Keio University, the Muroran Institute of Technology, and Nagoya University.

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Received16 February 2022
Accepted1 August 2022
Published online1 September 2022

Flight Demonstration of Pulse Detonation Engine Using Sounding Rocket S-520-31 in Space

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