{"id":15135794,"date":"2026-06-03T10:30:00","date_gmt":"2026-06-03T14:30:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.inthacity.com\/news\/nature-inspired-rocket-nozzle-redesign-stands-by-for-liftoff\/"},"modified":"2026-06-03T16:11:41","modified_gmt":"2026-06-03T20:11:41","slug":"nature-inspired-rocket-nozzle-redesign-stands-by-for-liftoff","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.inthacity.com\/news\/nature-inspired-rocket-nozzle-redesign-stands-by-for-liftoff\/","title":{"rendered":"Nature-inspired rocket-nozzle redesign stands by for liftoff"},"content":{"rendered":"

When it comes to rockets, bell-shaped engines are the norm. But they\u2019re not the most efficient shape. Engineers have relied on this design only because it avoids a known overheating risk faced by a more efficient engine. Now, though, three 17-year-olds have redesigned the nozzle of the more efficient aerospike engine to better manage heat.<\/p>\n

They\u2019re hoping that one day their new tech might literally shoot for the stars.<\/p>\n

Devin Wanchoo, Michael Obeng and Mazon Ben Chouikha attend Governor\u2019s School at Innovation Park in Manassas, Va. Their new work began as a way to satisfy a class assignment. \u201cWe wanted to do something in aerospace. We wanted to do something involving biomimicry. And then we wanted to do something that no one has done before,\u201d says Michael.<\/p>\n

Those motivations led them to refine a better rocket system.<\/p>\n

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Michael Obeng (left), Mazon Ben Chouikha (middle) and Devin Wanchoo (right) hold a model of their new aerospike nozzle. They\u2019ve improved the heat tolerance of the aerospike design using a novel machine-learning algorithm and some inspiration from Mother Nature. <\/span>K.G. Carpenter<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

During their research, the young engineers learned that bell-shaped rocket engines become less powerful the higher they ascend. For decades, engineers have experimented with an alternative that would avoid this limitation: the aerospike engine.<\/p>\n

Unfortunately, this design has its own big limitation: It shoots super-hot exhaust gases from the engine right up against its spike structure. Eventually, that heat can \u201ccause the spike body to melt and crack under thermal stress,\u201d Devin says.<\/p>\n

Their work won these teens a spot here at the 2026 Regeneron International Science and Engineering Fair<\/a>, or ISEF. The event is a program of the Society for Science (which also publishes this magazine). The young aerospike researchers were among 1,725 students \u2014 from 65 nations or territories \u2014 who competed at the 76th annual ISEF. These participants shared nearly $7 million in prizes.<\/p>\n

A guiding spike<\/h2>\n

Imagine a rocket launch. Flames burst downward from the engines and propel the rocket upward. Initially, the flames form a column.<\/p>\n

If you were to fly alongside the rocket as it ascends, you\u2019d eventually see the shape of that exhaust change. The column of gases would start to balloon outward.<\/p>\n

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This 60-second video illustrates why aerospike engines would be so much more efficient than today\u2019s bell-shaped alternatives \u2014 if you could get aerospikes to manage the heat of the exhaust gases moving through them.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

During liftoff, high atmospheric pressure initially forces the gases into that column shape. But as the rocket climbs, the air pressure weakens \u2014 and so does control of the exhaust gases. Now they spread out, reducing lift.<\/p>\n

The thrust must go down for the rocket to go up. But higher up, as the gases balloon out, bell-shaped engines \u201ccan lose up to 30 percent of their efficiency,\u201d says Devin.<\/p>\n

Engineers have been looking to overcome that. And the aerospike engine is one possible solution.<\/p>\n

\u201cUnlike a bell nozzle \u2014 which needs that giant encasing structure \u2014 the aerospike just has its central spike,\u201d Devin explains. It will deliver a strong, reliable upward thrust as long as you have some way \u201cto force gases [down] along the spike wall.\u201d<\/p>\n

Those gases flow along the spike\u2019s surface. The spike acts as a guide to direct the gases down so they can\u2019t spread out. But that guiding spike introduces its own problem.<\/p>\n

Coming from the engine, exhaust gases \u201care extremely hot,\u201d notes Michael. The spike’s tip takes a pummeling from those gases. Their heat is \u201cessentially attacking it, attacking it, attacking it,\u201d he says.<\/p>\n

What\u2019s more, those gases tend to recirculate along the spike. This helps counter the air pressure\u2019s attempt to weaken the downward flow of the gases, Michael says. Unfortunately, he adds, it also increases the heat.<\/p>\n

So what makes this engine so good at maintaining a strong downward flow of exhaust gases, Devin points out, \u201cis the same thing that causes that very aggressive heating of the spike body.\u201d<\/p>\n

Typical cooling methods just haven\u2019t been good enough to spare the spike.<\/p>\n

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Do you have a science question? We can help!<\/h2>\n

Submit your question here<\/a>, and we might answer it an upcoming issue of Science News Explores<\/em><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

Nature-inspired<\/h2>\n

To counter that, the trio looked for inspiration in nature. Living things have evolved different ways to cool themselves. The team considered plant veins, insect exoskeletons, shark tissues and more. Then the trio created ICARUS, a machine-learning algorithm<\/a>, and used it to test bio-based cooling strategies.<\/p>\n

ICARUS, says Devin, is \u201cprobably the most novel part\u201d of their project. It\u2019s a simpler, heat-driven version of tools used by the aerospace industry. And it does more than just test ideas. \u201cWe built it on a machine-learning layer that was able to suggest [spike shapes] to try,\u201d Devin says.<\/p>\n