alt Hacker NewsI have some hope that rotating detonation engines will make aerospikes viable. But I don’t even see them mentioned in this paper.
The idea with the constantly moving flame front is that it spreads the heat out. The limitation with aerospikes is getting enough coolant through the spike. Bells are simpler to cool, which as I understand more than makes up for them needing more cooling.
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ambicapter • yesterday at 4:10 PM
Doesn't seem like a front rotating around the spike would gain that much "spreading out" over a continuous front. At the end of the day, its a spike that narrows to a very small point.
JumpCrisscross • yesterday at 10:10 PM
RDEs are far less tested than aerospikes. (In part because you can build a dipshit aerospike in your garage. I don’t know anyone who has made an RDE at home.)
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I think they were mentioned briefly. Aerospikes can work with rdes potentially if the certain versions catch on, but at the end of the day the heat fluxes are even worse for the detonation based engines. The main reason aerospikes don’t make sense is that you adding more area that gets the highest amount of heat flux and your plumbing and cooling jackets becomes a nightmare.