Zero Failures Through 100-Second Steady-State Test: Deep Blue Aerospace's "Thunder-RS" Engine Test Fires with Complete Success

en.Wedoany.com Reported - On August 21, Deep Blue Aerospace successfully completed a 100-second long-duration hot-fire test of the "Thunder-RS" 130-ton-class liquid oxygen kerosene engine. This engine serves as the primary propulsion unit for the "Nebula II" large reusable launch vehicle.

During this test, the measured thrust reached 1297.5 kilonewtons (approximately 132.3 tons), with all parameters fully meeting design expectations. This comprehensively validated the reliability of the engine's overall system and the thermal protection performance of its thrust chamber, marking a key milestone in the engine's transition to engineering application and providing propulsion assurance for subsequent verification of 11-engine parallel clustering and recovery and reuse.

It is reported that the "Thunder-RS" adopts independently developed core technologies, including a gas generator cycle, pintle injector, and integrated metal 3D printing. Previously, the R&D team had conducted multiple short-duration ignition tests to conduct iterative assessments of engine start-up sequencing, shutdown control, and component compatibility. After each short-duration ignition, health checks were performed on the product, with the engine maintaining stable status, zero anomalies, and zero failures. In this test, the engine crossed the 100-second steady-state operation threshold for the first time, covering the rocket's core operational phase, serving as a comprehensive examination of the engine's structural reliability, thermal protection performance, and component operational stability.

Currently, subsystems of the "Nebula II," including the rocket body structure, avionics system, and recovery navigation, are being advanced concurrently and efficiently.