A few weeks ago, the two “stranded” astronauts in space after leaving for the International Space Station on June 5 aboard the Starliner ship, received good news: He had decided to advance his return. For Boeing, however, the mission fiasco is far from finishing. In fact, the company is Trying to sell your bleeding space division by piecesl. The latest: it seems that China has taken “oil” from the main problem of the Starliner.
Boeing’s problem as inspiration. In a surprising return of technological nut, Chinese scientists seem to have transformed the serious crisis that affects NASA (and especially Boeing) in A revolution in aerospace propulsion. The Boeing Starliner capsule suffered multiple helium leaks that incapacitated their propulsion systems, leaving the two astronauts trapped at the International Space Station.
That incident turned the heliuman ultralight gas traditionally used to pressurize liquid fuels, in A symbol of technical vulnerability. Now, Chinese researchers have seen in that same weakness a unique opportunity to develop a disruptive technology, a Able to revolutionize both the military and spatial field.
Solid propulsion driven by Helio. The team of scientists, led by Yang Zenan of the Harbin University of Engineering, has revealed in a recent study Published in the Magazine Aeronautica et Astronautics Sinica How helium controlled injection can considerably multiply the performance of solid fuel rocket.
Specifically, they discovered that by introducing helium through microscopic pores (about 2 mm) in the combustion chamber, It is possible to increase the specific engine efficiency by 5.77%. In addition, by precisely adjusting the proportion between helium and combustion gases (a part of helium for every four parts of fuel gas), scientists They managed to instantly triple the engine thrustcarrying it from 100% to 313% according to operational needs.
Advantage: Thermal camouflage and invisibility. The use of helium is not limited to potential improvements or thrust. One of its most strategic advantages lies in the drastic reduction in the temperature of the exhaust gases. The helium, Being extremely light (With a molar mass of only 4 g/mol in front of the 29 g/mol of the typical combustion gases), expand and cool the escape flow, lowering its temperature by up to 1,327 degrees Celsius.
This thermal reduction implies a radical decrease in the infrared signal of the missiles propelled by this technology, making them almost impossible to detect through infrared sensors modern military satellite employees such as Spacex Starshield and interceptor systems such as The SM-3 Block IIA.
Also improved stability and safety. Another relevant feature of helium, highlighted by researchers, is Its chemically inert naturewhich avoids common problems associated with unstable combustion caused by other light gases, especially hydrogen. This ensures, they explain, that The flight is soft and predictableeliminating many operational risks that traditionally hinder the practical application of more volatile alternative technologies.
In addition, by absorbing excess heat generated by combustion, helium not only reduces the exhaust temperature, but also Protects internal engine materials, extending its useful life and decreasing operational risks.
Military and strategic applications. They count on work that from a strategic and military perspective, technology has deep implications. The Ability to quickly modulate the thrust of a missile in flight allows Unpredictable attack trajectoriessignificantly improving your maneuverability. This aspect is especially relevant to advanced defensive systems, since the combination of lower infrared detectability and variable acceleration capacity makes interception greatly difficult, especially in the context of defense against hypersonic missiles.
According to Chinese researchers, this innovation could directly solve the current challenges facing their weapons systems in terms of speed, scope and thermal stealth, presenting a real challenge to antimile defenses developed by the United States.
Civil and spatial potential applications. However, the benefits of this technological innovation transcend the military. According to the research team, this technique could also revolutionize the civil and commercial field, especially in The rapid and economical launch of satellites by solid fuel rockets.
As? The capacity would be particularly valuable for urgent deployments in commercial, scientific or humanitarian contexts, providing an agile, profitable and adaptable solution against the expensive current launch systems.
Current context and relevance. Meanwhile, in the United States the initial crisis continues. As we explained at the beginning, NASA recently announced that astronauts Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams, affected by the Starliner’s breakdown, Finally they will return to Earth in mid -March using a Spacex ship. In the words of the NASA Traffic Program manager, Steve Stich, the incident has demonstrated once again that “the human space flight is full of unexpected challenges.”
Paradoxically, that same challenge that affected NASA and Boeing has served for Chinese scientists to achieve, on paper, a disruptive innovation that could deeply redefine the rules of technological and strategic game in the near future.
Image | POT, Gaystock
In Xataka | After the fiasco of the Starliner ship, Boeing is trying to sell its bleeding spatial division by pieces