Aaron Davis and Scott Stegman are seeking to change air travel as we know it.
Earlier this year, Mr. Davis and Mountain Aerospace Research Solutions unveiled the Fenris air-breathing, liquid-fueled rocket engine. The revolutionary invention takes oxygen from the atmosphere, compresses it and makes it available to use as oxidizer and free-reduction mass. The 3D-printed reusable engine has no moving parts, is 90% compatible with existing rocket technology and could significantly shorten the time between build to launch. It is able to carry a bigger payload, while also reducing launch costs and is viewed as a safer alternative in that controlled explosions now become controlled propulsion.
“You can just flip a switch, it ignites and it starts pulling atmospheric air to use as a reaction mass propellant,” Mr. Davis told the News-Press. “I mean, this is going to change how the whole species accesses outer space.”
Designed by Mr. Stegman, a Santa Barbara-based engineer, the first prototype Fenris engine was successfully static tested in July 2019 at the Mojave Air and Space Port. The test was viewed as a great success and Mr. Davis and Mr. Stegman are now moving forward with a launch-ready test later this year.
The idea for the engine came to Mr. Davis as he was watching videos on YouTube a few years ago. He watched a video about an air-breathing rocket and hired an engineer to prove him wrong.
“Honestly, it’s rocket science and let’s face it, who the heck am I?” Mr. Davis said. “Scott was kind enough to do some real due diligence and a lot of simulation.
“I mean, it’s not a cheap endeavor, rocket science. Aerospace in general is really a capital-intensive endeavor, but the payoffs for the species are huge and so you just kind of have a responsibility where you have to go for it. This is important, you can’t just leave this on the table, you know?”
Right away, Mr. Stegman realized the engine could be a true game changer.
“It takes 18 hours to fly some of the places that commercial aircraft fly these days,” Mr. Davis said. “If you had this engine deployed at scale, using liquid hydrogen and liquid oxygen as the fuel, now you’re carbon neutral and you’re heading to wherever you want to be in less than an hour – which is Elon Musk’s dream.
“By being able to cut that propellant dependency significantly… (Mr. Musk recently said) ‘you can go to orbit for $30 million.’ What if you could go to orbit for $300,000? A 10-time reduction in cost. We’re hoping the technology can pay off to that level, but that’s why we’re really pushing hard to get further development.”
Some 96% of spacecraft contain parts needed to go to orbit, while only 4% is the payload. By increasing the ratio of payload to propellant, “we can change the game for the whole species,” Mr. Davis said.
Mr. Davis was recently awarded a NASA Fellowship at the Founder Institute in Palo Alto. He has been searching for investors to help transform his prototype into a reality.
“Less than 600 people have ever left this planet,” Mr. Davis said. “Being a space-fearing species, it’s not for 7 billion minus 600. It’s not going to happen, so we need a new technology to get us there.”
Mr. Davis and Mr. Stegman have been meeting with defense contractors in recent months, as well as officials associated with the NASA Marshall Space Flight Center. The meeting with the five experts with the flight center went so well that Mr. Stegman quit his job and now works for Mr. Davis full time as an engineer.
“We’ve had seven independent experts look at it and not one of them said ‘boo,’” Mr. Davis explained.
As they work on the second prototype, the duo is targeting potential suborbital launch testing by 2022 or 2023. Mr. Stegman said they hope to have the second prototype completed in the next few months, but the group will then have to find a 3D printer to print the prototype. In total, Mr. Davis is pitching for $2 million, which would get the prototype through an entire flight regime.
“Engines are what drive the story of our species,” Mr. Davis said. “New ones just don’t come along every day, certainly not ones that can get you to space.”
Mr. Davis, 40, is a former Marine combat veteran with more than 10 years in combat. He was part of nearly 1,000 combat missions and brought everyone home safely each time. He worked in aviation with the Marines and recalled always being passionate about air travel. He would frequent the Hansen Planetarium in Salt Lake, Utah, growing up, though he is still blown away with just how far he’s come with his invention.
“I never thought I would think this up to be honest with you,” he said. “I just couldn’t get it out of my mind.”
One of Mr. Davis’ heroes is Peter Diamandis, founder and chairman of the X Prize Foundation, which leads the world in designing and operating large-scale incentive competitions. Mr. Diamandis often talks about massively transformative purpose – if you want to become a billionaire, help a billion people.
“Just the concept that we live in a day and age where there’s technology where you can take an idea and manifest that and help billions of people,” Mr. Davis explained. “People I’ll never meet or never know. This engine will be around for hundreds and thousands of years after I’m gone. I’m not doing this for me.
“I remember the first time I got on a commercial airplane. It was amazing. That’s what it means to be human to me. Bringing great things to this world.”
To learn more about the Fenris engine, visit www.marsengines.com.