Aerospike engine

The aerospike engine is a type of rocket engine that

maintains its aerodynamic efficiency across a wide
range of altitudes.[1] It belongs to the class of
altitude compensating nozzle engines. A vehicle
with an aerospike engine uses 25–30% less fuel at
low altitudes,[2] where most missions have the
greatest need for thrust. Aerospike engines have
been studied for several years and are the baseline
engines for many single-stage-to-orbit (SSTO)
designs and were also a strong contender for the
Space Shuttle main engine. However, no such
engine is in commercial production, although some
large-scale aerospikes are in testing phases.[3]

The terminology in the literature surrounding this

XRS-2200 linear aerospike engine for the X-33 program
subject is somewhat confusing—the term aerospike being tested at the Stennis Space Center
was originally used for a truncated plug nozzle with
a very rough conical taper and some gas injection,
forming an "air spike" to help make up for the absence of the plug tail. However, frequently, a full-length plug
nozzle is now called an aerospike.

Contents
Principles
Variations
Performance
Implementations
Firefly Aerospace
ARCA Space
KSF Space and Interstellar Space
Rocketstar
See also
References
External links

Principles
The purpose of any engine bell is to direct the exhaust of a rocket engine in one direction, generating thrust in
the opposite direction. The exhaust, a high-temperature mix of gases, has an effectively random momentum
distribution (i.e., the exhaust pushes in any direction it can). If the exhaust is allowed to escape in this form,
only a small part of the flow will be moving in the correct direction and thus contribute to forward thrust. The
bell redirects exhaust moving in the wrong direction so that it generates thrust in the correct direction. Ambient
air pressure also imparts a small pressure against the exhaust, helping to keep it moving in the "right" direction
as it exits the engine. As the vehicle travels upwards through the atmosphere, ambient air pressure is reduced.
This causes the thrust-generating exhaust to begin to expand outside the edge of the bell. Since this exhaust
begins traveling in the "wrong" direction (i.e., outward from the main exhaust plume), the efficiency of the
engine is reduced as the rocket travels because this escaping exhaust is no longer contributing to the thrust of
the engine. An aerospike rocket engine seeks to eliminate this loss of efficiency.[1]

Instead of firing the exhaust out of a small hole in the middle of a bell,
an aerospike engine avoids this random distribution by firing along
the outside edge of a wedge-shaped protrusion, the "spike", which
serves the same function as a traditional engine bell. The spike forms
one side of a "virtual" bell, with the other side being formed by the
outside air.[1]

The idea behind the aerospike design is that at low altitude the
ambient pressure compresses the exhaust against the spike. Exhaust
recirculation in the base zone of the spike can raise the pressure in that
zone to nearly ambient. Since the pressure in front of the vehicle is
ambient, this means that the exhaust at the base of the spike nearly Comparison between the design of a
balances out with the drag experienced by the vehicle. It gives no bell-nozzle rocket (left) and an
overall thrust, but this part of the nozzle also doesn't lose thrust by aerospike rocket (right)
forming a partial vacuum. The thrust at the base part of the nozzle can
be ignored at low altitude.[1]

As the vehicle climbs to higher altitudes, the air pressure holding the exhaust against the spike decreases, as
does the drag in front of the vehicle. The recirculation zone at the base of the spike maintains the pressure in
that zone to a fraction of 1 bar, higher than the near-vacuum in front of the vehicle, thus giving extra thrust as
altitude increases. This effectively behaves like an "altitude compensator" in that the size of the bell
automatically compensates as air pressure falls.[1]

The disadvantages of aerospikes seem to be extra weight for the spike. Furthermore, the larger cooled area can
reduce performance below theoretical levels by reducing the pressure against the nozzle. Aerospikes work
relatively poorly between Mach 1–3, where the airflow around the vehicle has reduced the pressure, thus
reducing the thrust.[4]

Variations

Several versions of the design exist, differentiated by their shapes. In the toroidal aerospike the spike is bowl-
shaped with the exhaust exiting in a ring around the outer rim. In theory this requires an infinitely long spike
for best efficiency, but by blowing a small amount of gas out of the center of a shorter truncated spike (like
base bleed in an artillery shell), something similar can be achieved.

In the linear aerospike the spike consists of a tapered wedge-shaped plate, with exhaust exiting on either side
at the "thick" end. This design has the advantage of being stackable, allowing several smaller engines to be
placed in a row to make one larger engine while augmenting steering performance with the use of individual
engine throttle control.

Performance
Rocketdyne conducted a lengthy series of tests in the 1960s on various designs. Later models of these engines
were based on their highly reliable J-2 engine machinery and provided the same sort of thrust levels as the
conventional engines they were based on; 200,000 lbf (890 kN) in the J-2T-200k, and 250,000 lbf (1.1 MN)
in the J-2T-250k (the T refers to the toroidal combustion chamber). Thirty years later their work was revived
for use in NASA's X-33 project. In this case the slightly upgraded J-2S engine machinery was used with a
linear spike, creating the XRS-2200. After more development and considerable testing, this project was
cancelled when the X-33's composite fuel tanks repeatedly failed.

Three XRS-2200 engines were built during the X-33 program and
underwent testing at NASA's Stennis Space Center. The single-
engine tests were a success, but the program was halted before the
testing for the two-engine setup could be completed. The XRS-2200
produces 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.

The RS-2200 Linear Aerospike Engine[5] was derived from the XRS-
2200. The RS-2200 was to power the VentureStar single-stage-to- CSULB aerospike engine
orbit vehicle. In the latest design, seven RS-2200s producing 542,000
pounds-force (2,410 kN) each would boost the VentureStar into low
earth orbit. The development on the RS-2200 was formally halted in early 2001 when the X-33 program did
not receive Space Launch Initiative funding. Lockheed Martin chose to not continue the VentureStar program
without any funding support from NASA. An engine of this type is on outdoor display on the grounds of the
NASA Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville Alabama.

The cancellation of the Lockheed Martin X-33 by the federal

government in 2001 decreased funding availability, but aerospike
engines remain an area of active research. For example, a milestone
was achieved when a joint academic/industry team from California
State University, Long Beach (CSULB) and Garvey Spacecraft
Corporation successfully conducted a flight test of a liquid-propellant
powered aerospike engine in the Mojave Desert on September 20,
2003. CSULB students had developed their Prospector 2 (P-2) rocket
using a 1,000 lbf (4.4 kN) LOX/ethanol aerospike engine. This work NASA's Toroidal aerospike nozzle
on aerospike engines continues; Prospector-10, a ten-chamber
aerospike engine, was test-fired June 25, 2008.[6]

Further progress came in March 2004 when two successful tests sponsored by the NASA Dryden Flight
Research Centre using high-power rockets manufactured by Blacksky Corporation, based in Carlsbad,
California. The aerospike nozzles and solid rocket motors were developed and built by the rocket motor
division of Cesaroni Technology Incorporated, north of Toronto, Ontario. The two rockets were solid-fuel
powered and fitted with non-truncated toroidal aerospike nozzles. Flown at the Pecos County Aerospace
Development Center, Fort Stockton, Texas, the rockets achieved apogees of 26,000 ft (7,900 m) and speeds of
about Mach 1.5.

Small-scale aerospike engine development using a hybrid rocket propellant configuration has been ongoing by
members of the Reaction Research Society.

In 2020 the TU Dresden and Fraunhofer IWS started their CFDμSAT-Project for research on additively
manufactured aerospike-engines. A prototype has already been tested in a test cell at TU Dresden’s Institute of
Aerospace Engineering, achieving a burn time of 30 seconds. [7]
Implementations

Firefly Aerospace

In July 2014 Firefly Space Systems announced its planned Alpha

launcher that uses an aerospike engine for its first stage. Intended for
the small satellite launch market, it is designed to launch satellites into
low-Earth orbit (LEO) at a price of US$8–9 million, much lower than
with conventional launchers.[8]

Firefly Alpha 1.0 was designed to carry payloads of up to 400

kilograms (880 lb). It uses carbon composite materials and uses the
same basic design for both stages. The plug-cluster aerospike engine
Nozzle performance comparison of
puts out 90,000 pounds-force (400 kN) of thrust. The engine has a
bell and aerospike nozzle
bell-shaped nozzle that has been cut in half, then stretched to form a
ring with the half-nozzle now forming the profile of a plug.[8]

This rocket design was never launched. The design was abandoned after Firefly Space Systems went
bankrupt. A new company, Firefly Aerospace, has replaced the aerospike engine with a conventional engine
in the Alpha 2.0 design.

ARCA Space

In March 2017 ARCA Space Corporation announced their intention to build a single-stage-to-orbit rocket
(SSTO), named Haas 2CA, using a linear aerospike engine. The rocket is designed to send up to 100 kg into
low-Earth orbit, at a price of US$1 million per launch.[9] They later announced that their Executor Aerospike
engine would produce 50,500 pounds-force (225 kN) of thrust at sea level and 73,800 pounds-force (328 kN)
of thrust in a vacuum.[10]

In June 2017, ARCA announced that they would fly their Demonstrator3 rocket to space, also using a linear
aerospike engine. This rocket was designed to test several components of their Haas 2CA at lower cost. They
announced a flight for August 2017.[9] In September 2017, ARCA announced that, after being delayed, their
linear aerospike engine was ready to perform ground tests and flight tests on a Demonstrator3 rocket.[9]

On December 20, 2019, ARCA tested the LAS 25DA aerospike steam rocket engine for the Launch Assist
System.[11]

KSF Space and Interstellar Space

Another spike engine concept model, by KSF Space and Interstellar Space in Los Angeles, was designed for
orbital vehicle named SATORI. Due to lack of funding, the concept is still undeveloped.[12]

Rocketstar

Rocketstar planned to launch its 3D-printed aerospike rocket to an altitude of 50 miles in February 2019.[13]

See also
 Expanding nozzle
LASRE – Linear Aerospike SR-71 Experiment 1997/8 NASA for X-33
Rotary Rocket – Company
Sabre – Synergetic Air Breathing Rocket Engine - a hybrid ramjet and rocket engine

References
1. "NASA - Linear Aerospike Engine fact sheet (08/00)" (https://www.nasa.gov/centers/marshall/n
ews/background/facts/aerospike.html). www.nasa.gov. Retrieved 21 January 2020.
2. Defusca, Albert; Craddock, Christopher (1 November 2017). "Affordable Access to Low Earth
Orbit" (https://www.dsiac.org/resources/journals/dsiac/fall-2017-volume-4-number-4/affordable-
access-low-earth-orbit). DSIAC Journals. 4 (4). Retrieved 16 June 2019.
3. "Aerospike Engine Homepage" (https://www.hq.nasa.gov/office/pao/History/x-33/aerospik.htm).
www.hq.nasa.gov.
4. "Pwrengineering.com" (https://web.archive.org/web/20100402105625/http://www.pwrengineeri
ng.com/articles/nozzledesign.htm). ww17.pwrengineering.com. Archived from the original (htt
p://ww17.pwrengineering.com/articles/nozzledesign.htm) on 2 April 2010.
5. "RS-2200" (http://www.astronautix.com/r/rs-2200.html). Astronautix.com. Retrieved 4 February
2018.
6. "CSULB CALVEIN Rocket News and Events" (https://web.archive.org/web/20080615154007/h
ttp://www.csulb.edu/colleges/coe/mae/views/projects/rocket/). Archived from the original (http://
www.csulb.edu/colleges/coe/mae/views/projects/rocket/) on 15 June 2008.
7. "TU-Dresden Homepage" (https://tu-dresden.de/tu-dresden/profil/exzellenz/news/3D-Raketentr
iebwerk?set_language=en). tu-dresden.de. Retrieved 23 April 2021.
8. "Firefly Space Systems unveils Alpha launch vehicle design with aerospike engine" (http://ww
w.gizmag.com/firefly-alpha-aerospike-launch-vehicle/32892). Gizmag.com. 14 July 2014.
Retrieved 14 July 2014.
9. "ARCA News" (http://www.arcaspace.com/en/news.htm). ARCA Space. ARCA Space.
Retrieved 30 May 2018.
10. "Haas 2CA Specs" (http://www.arcaspace.com/en/Haas_2CA/specs.htm). ARCA Space.
ARCA Space. Retrieved 30 May 2018.
11. "Flight of the Aerospike: Episode 34 - LAS 25DA Aerospike Engine" (https://www.youtube.com/
watch?v=WnrTrsRskp8). Youtube. ARCA Space. Retrieved 5 August 2020.
12. "SATORI Space Vehicle Rocket" (https://www.ksf.space/satori-ksf-space.html). KSF Space.
13. Wang, Brian (24 January 2019). "Rocketstar to Launch 3D Printed Aerospike Engine Rocket in
February" (https://www.nextbigfuture.com/2019/01/rocketstar-to-launch-3d-printed-aerospike-en
gine-rocket-in-february.html). NextBigFuture.com. Retrieved 25 January 2019.

External links
Aerospike Engine (http://www.aerospaceweb.org/design/aerospike/main.shtml)
Advanced Engines planned for uprated Saturn and Nova boosters (https://web.archive.org/we
b/20050219153713/http://astronautix.com/stages/satt250k.htm) — includes the J-2T
Linear Aerospike Engine — Propulsion for the X-33 Vehicle (https://web.archive.org/web/20041
030222947/http://www1.msfc.nasa.gov/NEWSROOM/background/facts/aerospike.html)
Dryden Flight Research Centre (http://www.nasa.gov/centers/dryden/news/X-Press/stories/200
4/063004/res_spike.html)
Aerospike Engine Control System Features And Performance (https://web.archive.org/web/200
71007072409/http://www.pwrengineering.com/dataresources/AerospikeEngineControlSystem
FeaturesAndPerformance.pdf)
 X-33 Attitude Control Using The XRS-2200 Linear Aerospike Engine (https://web.archive.org/w
eb/20071009152233/http://www.pwrengineering.com/dataresources/X-33AttitudeControlUsing
TheXRS-2200LinearAerospikeEngine.pdf)
Bui, Trong; Murray, James; Rogers, Charles; Bartel, Scott; Cesaroni, Anthony; Dennett, Mike
(2005). "Flight Research of an Aerospike Nozzle Using High Power Solid Rockets". 41st
AIAA/ASME/SAE/ASEE Joint Propulsion Conference & Exhibit. doi:10.2514/6.2005-3797 (http
s://doi.org/10.2514%2F6.2005-3797). ISBN 978-1-62410-063-5.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D4SaofKCYwo

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