Swiss students ignite rotating detonation engine

A team of 20 students from ETH Zurich has achieved a technical milestone by successfully operating a Rotating Detonation Rocket Engine (RDRE) using propane and liquid oxygen. The test, conducted in April 2026 at the Dübendorf airfield, produced stable detonation waves. Only a dozen countries master this technology, and no other student group had achieved it with liquid fuel.

Student manipulating RDRE engine on an outdoor test bench, annular detonation waves visible as blue-orange plasma rings inside the annular chamber, liquid propane and oxygen flowing through metal pipes to the injector, pressure sensors and thermocouples connected to a data acquisition rack with coaxial cables, smoke and exhaust gases expanding into the nozzle cone, industrial hangar background with workshop tools, strobe flash light synchronized with the detonation, photorealistic aerospace engineering style, brushed metal and carbon textures, technical chromaticity with orange highlights, wide-angle cinematic composition.

How the Supersonic Detonation Cycle Works 🚀

Unlike conventional engines, the RDRE uses a supersonic shockwave that rotates inside the chamber at 20,000 revolutions per second. This continuous detonation generates higher pressures and temperatures, burning the fuel more completely. The theoretical efficiency improvement over traditional engines is between 10 and 20%. The main challenge was stabilizing the wave without it extinguishing or becoming uncontrollable.

The Rocket That Didn't Explode (And That's News) 🔥

While most engineering students dream of their project working, these 20 Swiss students managed to keep their engine from blowing into a thousand pieces. Something that, in the world of experimental rocketry, is already considered a resounding success. The next step, according to the team, is for the engine not only to ignite but also to actually push something. But that, they say, is for next semester.