Technology demonstrator for the development of innovative propulsion concepts
DLR is developing a pump-fed liquid oxygen and methane engine as part of the LUMEN (Liquid Upper Stage Demonstrator Engine) project. This investigates the behaviour of a complete liquid-fuelled rocket engine cycle and its individual components in a representative test environment. The tests are taking place on the European Research and Technology Test Stand P8 at the DLR site in Lampoldshausen.
LUMEN is aimed at building up technical expertise and project competence at system level for a cryogenic upper stage engine, including the design, manufacture and operation of a demonstrator for such an engine. This will allow researchers to examine the specific problems that arise from the combined operation of the individual components. The design of the demonstrator, which has been optimised for test stand operation (scaled, with hardly any restrictions in terms of weight or installation space), ensures good accessibility to all individual components for measurement purposes. In this way, researchers can obtain data that provide a much more detailed insight into the operating behaviour of an engine than is possible with current engines. These data provide the basis for validating numerical simulation methods for characterising liquid-fuelled propulsion systems.
By acquiring this systems expertise, the DLR research team will be able to support the German and European space industries in the development of future innovative and cost-effective rocket propulsion systems.
Link:
German Aerospace Center (DLR)
Institute of Space Propulsion
Tobias Traudt ยท Email tobias.traudt@dlr.de
