The team at Glasgow University claims to have “built and fired the first unsupported ‘autophage’ rocket engine.” Fittingly named the Ouroboros 3 rocket engine, after the ancient symbol of a snake eating its own tail depicting the eternal cycle of death and rebirth, it is said to be capable of missions beyond the Earth’s atmosphere.
The latest iteration of the rocket relies on a mix of liquid propellant, and then feeds the plastic-based parts as supplementary fuel in a sequential manner, depending on the thrust required at any stage of the journey. As part of their latest test, the team fired the Ouroboros 3 rocket and achieved a gross thrust of 100 Newtons — and more importantly, demonstrated that it is capable of a controlled burn at a stable rate.
Another breakthrough they achieved was a shift in their fuel strategy. “More energetic liquid propellants can be used, and that the plastic fuselage can withstand the forces required to feed it into the engine without buckling,” notes the press release. The team is calling these developments a solid step toward the development of a viable flight concept.
Another crucial advantage of the self-consuming rocket is that all the weight freed by up the burning of fuel can be used for extra payload. The team notes that compared to a conventional rocket of the same mass, an autophage rocket can deliver a bigger payload. Unsurprisingly, it is being hailed as an ideal route for injecting nano-satellites into orbit, but the tech is not limited to enthusiastic science circles. Governments are also following the developments keenly.
