Aerospike

Aerospike engines

The aerospike rocket engine is aerodynamic efficiency across a wide range of altitudes, eliminating the need to have a vacuum and sea level nozzles(bell) also uses 25–30% less fuel at low altitudes.

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.

Rocketdyne, a Division of Rockwell International introduced the aerospike rocket engine that it built and tested during the 1970's and again in the 1990's, this unique design is flexible for different thrusts and altitudes. It has never been flown on a rocket.

X-33 Venture Star Program by Lockheed Martin from 1996 until it was cancelled in February 2001

XRS-2200 Linear Aerospike Engine Test fire at NASA Stennis Space Center (SSC)

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.

In 2014 Two companies are active pursuing Aerospikes

Firefly Aerospace (Texas) Website www.fireflyspace.com

Alpha 2.0 launch vehicle 1,000 kilogram payload to LEO from Vandenberg Air Force Base Space Launch Complex 2 West

in late 2019 but the Aerospike has now been canceled and work on its new engines is now based at Firefly Ukraine.

ARCA Space Corporation is working on a linear Aerospike engine.

Demonstrator 3 Aerospike in 2017