Sep 09, 2026
Researchers at TU Dresden and the DLR Have Successfully Tested Europe’s First Actively Cooled Hydrogen-Oxygen Rotating Detonation Rocket Combustion Chamber
Rotating detonation combustion chamber developed at TUD during long-term operation - with nozzle segment mounted
Scientists at TU Dresden, in collaboration with ArianeGroup and the Institute of Space Propulsion at the German Aerospace Center (DLR) in Lampoldshausen, have successfully tested Germany’s first water-cooled rotating detonation rocket combustion chamber as part of the research project “Numerical and Experimental Demonstration Study for Engines using Rotating Detonation” (NEDSERD). This so-called Rotating Detonation Rocket Engine (RDRE) was developed to more closely examine the operational behavior and thermal stresses on the structure and to gain insights for the further development of future RDREs. Unlike conventional rocket engines, RDREs use controlled detonations instead of continuous combustion. This technology could find application in the space industry of the future.
Previous RDREs in Europe have mostly been operated without cooling and could only be tested for a few seconds. This limited the ability to make precise statements about heat fluxes during steady-state operation. To close this knowledge gap, TU Dresden developed a water-cooled RDRE that operates using a hydrogen-oxygen fuel combination. The tests have shown that, an additively manufactured RDRE can be operated stably over a longer period of time, utilizing a water-cooling approach. This lays the foundation for a detailed investigation of the operational behavior as well as for a path toward the application of this type of engine.
In conventional rocket engines, fuel is burned at a constant pressure. However, this technology has nearly exhausted its efficiency potential. RDREs, on the other hand, rely on a rotating detonation wave in the combustion chamber that causes the fuel to burn explosively. In theory, this allows for more efficient use of fuel. At the same time, the shorter combustion region offers the potential for these engines to be built lighter and more compact. For spaceflight, this potentially means lower fuel consumption, higher payload capacities for satellites or instruments, and reduced launch costs.
Two test campaigns were conducted as part of the project. In the first test campaign, an uncooled RDRE from the DLR was investigated. The second test campaign focused on a larger, water-cooled RDRE manufactured using Laser Powder Bed Fusion (LPBF, also known as metal 3D printing). The focus here was on extensive temperature measurements to better understand the thermal loads on the combustion chamber. “In addition to developing the cooled combustion chamber itself, the central challenge was to analyze the high thermal loads under various operating conditions,” explains Dr.-Ing. Christian Bach, head of the Space Transportation Systems research field. “To do this, we used three different methods for measuring temperature and heat flux. In total, we tested the water-cooled combustion chamber in 9 test runs with a total duration of about 80 seconds, with the individual combustion phases lasting up to 10 seconds. The results show that water cooling via the cooling jacket is an effective solution for enabling longer operation while simultaneously gathering a wealth of data from steady-state operation. For the hydrogen-oxygen propellant combination, this data had not previously been collected, as far as is known from freely accessible sources.”
Rotating detonation combustion chamber developed at TUD during long-term operation – without nozzle segment mounted © DLR CC-BY 3.0
Rotating detonation rocket engines could evolve spaceflight due to their potential for higher efficiency, lighter construction, and the resulting increased cost-effectiveness. The NEDSERD project, a collaboration between TU Dresden, the DLR, and ArianeGroup, lays an important foundation for harnessing this promising technology for future rocket applications.
Contact:
© Thomas Eipper
Head of Space Transportation
NameDr.-Ing. Christian Bach
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The research described here was conducted as part of the NEDSERD project. The work was supported by the Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Climate Action (BMWK) under grant number 50RL2320.