Aerospike engines will use 25–30% less fuel at low altitudes. Rocketdyne did a lot of tests in the 1960s on this technology. NASA tried to make aerospikes work for the X-33 program in the 1990s.
Three XRS-2200 engines were built during the X-33 program. The XRS-2200 produced 204,420 lbf (909,300 N) thrust with an Isp of 339 seconds at sea level and 266,230 lbf (1,184,300 N) thrust with an Isp of 436.5 seconds in a vacuum.
Rocketstar LLC launched a small rocket in 2016.
It's official! Next stop: Space!
Rocket: Cowbell
Engine: Proprietary aerospike
Planned altitude: 50 Miles
Launch location: Barge launch, off Cape Canaveral#CarpeAstra #aerospike #cowbell #rocketlaunch #space #rocketstar pic.twitter.com/qcuIMKmwFd— RocketStar (@RocketStarSpace) January 18, 2019
Takeoff! The Choppah, pushing the edge of Mach 1 w/ our new #3dprinted #aerospike engine! #CarpeAstra pic.twitter.com/EXbo2HdK1d
— RocketStar (@RocketStarSpace) April 17, 2016
Brian Wang is a Futurist Thought Leader and a popular Science blogger with 1 million readers per month. His blog Nextbigfuture.com is ranked #1 Science News Blog. It covers many disruptive technology and trends including Space, Robotics, Artificial Intelligence, Medicine, Anti-aging Biotechnology, and Nanotechnology.
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