Launch Experiment of Microwave Rocket Equipped with Six-Staged Reed Valve Air-Breathing System
Millimeter-wave-supported detonation (MSD) is a unique detonation phenomenon driven by a supersonically propagating ionization front, sustained by intense millimeter-wave beams. Microwave Rocket, which utilizes MSD to generate thrust from atmospheric air in a pulse detonation engine (PDE) cycle, is...
Saved in:
| Main Authors: | , , , , , , , , , , , , |
|---|---|
| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
MDPI AG
2025-06-01
|
| Series: | Aerospace |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | https://www.mdpi.com/2226-4310/12/7/577 |
| Tags: |
Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
|
| _version_ | 1849714483478396928 |
|---|---|
| author | Kosuke Irie Ayuto Manabe Tomonori Nakatani Tatsuki Kinoshita Toshinobu Nomura Matthias Weiand Kimiya Komurasaki Takahiro Shinya Ryosuke Ikeda Keito Ishita Taku Nakai Ken Kajiwara Yasuhisa Oda |
| author_facet | Kosuke Irie Ayuto Manabe Tomonori Nakatani Tatsuki Kinoshita Toshinobu Nomura Matthias Weiand Kimiya Komurasaki Takahiro Shinya Ryosuke Ikeda Keito Ishita Taku Nakai Ken Kajiwara Yasuhisa Oda |
| author_sort | Kosuke Irie |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Millimeter-wave-supported detonation (MSD) is a unique detonation phenomenon driven by a supersonically propagating ionization front, sustained by intense millimeter-wave beams. Microwave Rocket, which utilizes MSD to generate thrust from atmospheric air in a pulse detonation engine (PDE) cycle, is a promising low-cost alternative to conventional chemical propulsion systems for space transportation. However, insufficient air intake during repetitive PDE cycles has limited achievable thrust performance. To address this issue, a model equipped with a six-stage reed valve system (36 valves in total) was developed to ensure sufficient air intake, which measured 500 mm in length, 28 mm in radius, and 539 g in weight. Launch demonstration experiments were conducted using a 170 GHz, 550 kW gyrotron developed at the National Institutes for Quantum Science and Technology (QST). Continuous thrust was successfully generated by irradiating up to 50 pulses per experiment at each frequency between 75 and 150 Hz, in 25 Hz increments, corresponding duty cycles ranging from 0.09 to 0.18. A maximum thrust of 9.56 N and a momentum coupling coefficient <inline-formula><math xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" display="inline"><semantics><mrow><msub><mrow><mi>C</mi></mrow><mrow><mi>m</mi></mrow></msub></mrow></semantics></math></inline-formula> of 116 N/MW were obtained. These values represent a fourfold increase compared to previous launch experiments without reed valves, thereby demonstrating the effectiveness of the reed valve configuration in enhancing thrust performance. |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-2fd51ef2d1f04cc38d8d7e048439209c |
| institution | DOAJ |
| issn | 2226-4310 |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2025-06-01 |
| publisher | MDPI AG |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Aerospace |
| spelling | doaj-art-2fd51ef2d1f04cc38d8d7e048439209c2025-08-20T03:13:42ZengMDPI AGAerospace2226-43102025-06-0112757710.3390/aerospace12070577Launch Experiment of Microwave Rocket Equipped with Six-Staged Reed Valve Air-Breathing SystemKosuke Irie0Ayuto Manabe1Tomonori Nakatani2Tatsuki Kinoshita3Toshinobu Nomura4Matthias Weiand5Kimiya Komurasaki6Takahiro Shinya7Ryosuke Ikeda8Keito Ishita9Taku Nakai10Ken Kajiwara11Yasuhisa Oda12Department of Aeronautics and Astronautics, School of Engineering, The University of Tokyo, 7-3-1 Hongo, Tokyo 113-8656, JapanDepartment of Aeronautics and Astronautics, School of Engineering, The University of Tokyo, 7-3-1 Hongo, Tokyo 113-8656, JapanDepartment of Aeronautics and Astronautics, School of Engineering, The University of Tokyo, 7-3-1 Hongo, Tokyo 113-8656, JapanDepartment of Aeronautics and Astronautics, School of Engineering, The University of Tokyo, 7-3-1 Hongo, Tokyo 113-8656, JapanDepartment of Aeronautics and Astronautics, School of Engineering, The University of Tokyo, 7-3-1 Hongo, Tokyo 113-8656, JapanDepartment of Aeronautics and Astronautics, School of Engineering, The University of Tokyo, 7-3-1 Hongo, Tokyo 113-8656, JapanDepartment of Aeronautics and Astronautics, School of Engineering, The University of Tokyo, 7-3-1 Hongo, Tokyo 113-8656, JapanNational Institute for Quantum Science and Technology, 801-1 Mukoyama, Naka 311-0193, JapanNational Institute for Quantum Science and Technology, 801-1 Mukoyama, Naka 311-0193, JapanNational Institute for Quantum Science and Technology, 801-1 Mukoyama, Naka 311-0193, JapanNational Institute for Quantum Science and Technology, 801-1 Mukoyama, Naka 311-0193, JapanNational Institute for Quantum Science and Technology, 801-1 Mukoyama, Naka 311-0193, JapanDepartment of Mechanical Engineering, Faculty of Science and Engineering, Setsunan University, 17-8 Ikedanakamachi, Neyagawa 572-8508, JapanMillimeter-wave-supported detonation (MSD) is a unique detonation phenomenon driven by a supersonically propagating ionization front, sustained by intense millimeter-wave beams. Microwave Rocket, which utilizes MSD to generate thrust from atmospheric air in a pulse detonation engine (PDE) cycle, is a promising low-cost alternative to conventional chemical propulsion systems for space transportation. However, insufficient air intake during repetitive PDE cycles has limited achievable thrust performance. To address this issue, a model equipped with a six-stage reed valve system (36 valves in total) was developed to ensure sufficient air intake, which measured 500 mm in length, 28 mm in radius, and 539 g in weight. Launch demonstration experiments were conducted using a 170 GHz, 550 kW gyrotron developed at the National Institutes for Quantum Science and Technology (QST). Continuous thrust was successfully generated by irradiating up to 50 pulses per experiment at each frequency between 75 and 150 Hz, in 25 Hz increments, corresponding duty cycles ranging from 0.09 to 0.18. A maximum thrust of 9.56 N and a momentum coupling coefficient <inline-formula><math xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" display="inline"><semantics><mrow><msub><mrow><mi>C</mi></mrow><mrow><mi>m</mi></mrow></msub></mrow></semantics></math></inline-formula> of 116 N/MW were obtained. These values represent a fourfold increase compared to previous launch experiments without reed valves, thereby demonstrating the effectiveness of the reed valve configuration in enhancing thrust performance.https://www.mdpi.com/2226-4310/12/7/577advanced propulsionbeamed energy propulsiongyrotronspace transportationwireless power transfer |
| spellingShingle | Kosuke Irie Ayuto Manabe Tomonori Nakatani Tatsuki Kinoshita Toshinobu Nomura Matthias Weiand Kimiya Komurasaki Takahiro Shinya Ryosuke Ikeda Keito Ishita Taku Nakai Ken Kajiwara Yasuhisa Oda Launch Experiment of Microwave Rocket Equipped with Six-Staged Reed Valve Air-Breathing System Aerospace advanced propulsion beamed energy propulsion gyrotron space transportation wireless power transfer |
| title | Launch Experiment of Microwave Rocket Equipped with Six-Staged Reed Valve Air-Breathing System |
| title_full | Launch Experiment of Microwave Rocket Equipped with Six-Staged Reed Valve Air-Breathing System |
| title_fullStr | Launch Experiment of Microwave Rocket Equipped with Six-Staged Reed Valve Air-Breathing System |
| title_full_unstemmed | Launch Experiment of Microwave Rocket Equipped with Six-Staged Reed Valve Air-Breathing System |
| title_short | Launch Experiment of Microwave Rocket Equipped with Six-Staged Reed Valve Air-Breathing System |
| title_sort | launch experiment of microwave rocket equipped with six staged reed valve air breathing system |
| topic | advanced propulsion beamed energy propulsion gyrotron space transportation wireless power transfer |
| url | https://www.mdpi.com/2226-4310/12/7/577 |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT kosukeirie launchexperimentofmicrowaverocketequippedwithsixstagedreedvalveairbreathingsystem AT ayutomanabe launchexperimentofmicrowaverocketequippedwithsixstagedreedvalveairbreathingsystem AT tomonorinakatani launchexperimentofmicrowaverocketequippedwithsixstagedreedvalveairbreathingsystem AT tatsukikinoshita launchexperimentofmicrowaverocketequippedwithsixstagedreedvalveairbreathingsystem AT toshinobunomura launchexperimentofmicrowaverocketequippedwithsixstagedreedvalveairbreathingsystem AT matthiasweiand launchexperimentofmicrowaverocketequippedwithsixstagedreedvalveairbreathingsystem AT kimiyakomurasaki launchexperimentofmicrowaverocketequippedwithsixstagedreedvalveairbreathingsystem AT takahiroshinya launchexperimentofmicrowaverocketequippedwithsixstagedreedvalveairbreathingsystem AT ryosukeikeda launchexperimentofmicrowaverocketequippedwithsixstagedreedvalveairbreathingsystem AT keitoishita launchexperimentofmicrowaverocketequippedwithsixstagedreedvalveairbreathingsystem AT takunakai launchexperimentofmicrowaverocketequippedwithsixstagedreedvalveairbreathingsystem AT kenkajiwara launchexperimentofmicrowaverocketequippedwithsixstagedreedvalveairbreathingsystem AT yasuhisaoda launchexperimentofmicrowaverocketequippedwithsixstagedreedvalveairbreathingsystem |