At the DLR Institute of Space Propulsion in Lampoldshausen, the DLR project LUMEN (Liquid Upper Stage Demonstrator Engine) is realizing an engine with 25 kilonewtons of thrust from the component to the system level.
The main objectives of the project are to increase DLR's system expertise in the field of rocket engines and to provide a modular test environment up to technology maturity level six for future engine component tests.
Liquid Upper Stage Demonstrator Engine (LUMEN)
Field of application
Increasing systems expertise at the DLR Institute
Providing a modular and flexible test environment for future engine components in a fully representative system environment
Using Artificial Intelligence for engine control or health monitoring and management
The LUMEN engine is a pump-fed LOX / methane engine that is being tested at the European research and technology test stand P8 on the DLR site. The focus is on investigating the behavior of a complete liquid rocket cycle and its individual components in a representative test environment.
Part of the project is the design, production and operation of a demonstrator for a cryogenic upper stage engine. This enables the coupled operation of the individual components to be investigated.
Looking at the interaction of individual components
The design, which is optimized for test bench operation without restrictions on the weight and installation space of the demonstrator, ensures excellent metrological accessibility to all individual components. The data obtained in this way provides a much more detailed insight into the operating behavior of an engine than is possible with real aircraft engines.
This test data forms the basis for the validation of numerical methods for describing liquid propulsion systems. The LUMEN project is therefore an essential component on the way to the "virtual engine". In addition, research is being conducted in the field of AI-based engine control and health monitoring and management, which will be required for future reusable rocket engines.
Systems expertise for the European space industry
With this systems expertise, the DLR research team supports the German and European space industry in particular in the development of innovative and cost-efficient rocket propulsion systems.
The intended thrust class of the LUMEN demonstrator engine and DLR's open communication philosophy have sparked the interest of numerous microlauncher start-ups to use the LUMEN design as a potential upper stage engine for their projects.
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Video: Technology demonstrator LUMEN
As part of the LUMEN (Liquid Upper Stage Demonstrator Engine) project, DLR researchers are developing a pump-fed liquid oxygen (LOX) and methane engine. The focus is on investigating the behavior of an entire liquid-fueled rocket cycle and its individual components in a representative test environment. The tests will take place on the European Research and Technology Test Bed P8 at the DLR site in Lampoldshausen.
