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Carmack's Throatless Rocket Engine

Posted by CmdrTaco on from the this-is-just-strange dept.

Baldrson writes "John Carmack is working a potentially disruptive technology: A throatless rocket engine. Its made from plain aluminum pipes with few machined fittings. Carmack says: "The great thing about these engines is that it only takes me two nights to machine the parts, so we can test two engines a week if necessary." It scales too: "If this line of tube engine development works out, we can make a 5,000 lbf engine with very little more effort than the test engine." This is what makes disruptive technology development work: Cheap, fast turnaround on on redesign producing technologies that scale. If this works, the NASCAR guys may really start entering space competitions like the X-Cup."

6 of 351 comments (clear)

  1. Throatless rocket engine? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: -1, Offtopic

    Ugh. This isn't a sexual euphemism of some sort, is it?

  2. 5,000 lbf engine? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: -1, Offtopic

    5,000 lbf engine

    But on Vista it will only be 2,500lbf - that crap

  3. Re:Obscure unit by tripslash · · Score: -1, Offtopic

    I know I'll get modded up for this, but ...

    maybe not.

  4. Dr. Carmack says... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: -1, Offtopic

    Carmack says: NOTHING you idiot Carmack is dead he's locked in my basement.

  5. Re:X-Cup? by Almost-Retired · · Score: 0, Offtopic

    Well, the biggest cup I ever saw was on my first, now long deceased (darn, she was a good woman all around & I still miss her), wife. 34-FF. And lemme tell ya folks, bras to fit them right aren't cheap or flimsy. 2 of them was most of a weeks paycheck 40 years back up the log. I didn't complain as it made a knockout out of the lady, who otherwise had to tuck them under her belt because she'd never till then had a bra that would actually support them. Money is hard to come by when you are the oldest daughter of an Arkansas share-cropper.

    --
    Cheers, Gene
    "There are four boxes to be used in defense of liberty:
      soap, ballot, jury, and ammo. Please use in that order."
    -Ed Howdershelt (Author)

  6. Less rockets, more 3D engines. by daed350 · · Score: 0, Offtopic

    WTF? He should spend more time on his GAME engines rather than his rocket engines, and maybe the next ID release wouldn't suck as bad as the last ;)