Research Line
Pulse detonation and rotating detonation, developed for flight rather than for the bench.
Conventional rocket engines burn by deflagration, and that sets a ceiling. Pressure-gain detonation is the attempt to work above it.
Work continues on pulse-driven pressure-gain propulsion, including pulse detonation and rotating detonation configurations, to reach regimes beyond the efficiency limits of conventional deflagration based rocket engines.
These engines are designed for controllability, scalability, and integration into real flight vehicles rather than laboratory curiosities.
This is a research line, held deliberately separate from the flight-hardware line. Heretic flies on Belka, which is pressure fed and understood. Pressure-gain propulsion is where the next capability comes from, and it is not on the critical path for the first mission.
Configuration detail, test articles, and results are in work.