WeLight | Blaze‑1 Dual Pre‑Burner Liquid Flow Test Succeeds, Overcoming Extreme Ignition Challenges

Recently, Beijing WeLight Technology Co., Ltd. successfully completed the liquid flow test of the fuel-rich and oxygen-rich pre-burner injectors for the "Blaze-1" full-flow staged combustion cycle LOX/methane engine. All test metrics met the expected targets, laying a solid technical foundation for subsequent pre-burner high-pressure squeeze ignition tests and full-engine system hot-fire tests.




Test Content and Core Results Meet Targets


This test conducted systematic liquid flow tests on both fuel-rich and oxygen-rich pre-burners, covering the fuel and oxidizer circuits under various operating conditions. The results show that the flow‑resistance characteristics of each injector are consistently well‑matched across different conditions, with overall data fully compliant with design requirements.




Core Innovations and Advantages of the Pre‑Burner


The fuel-rich and oxygen-rich pre-burners used in the "Blaze-1" engine innovatively adopt an oxygen‑fuel dual‑swirl combined secondary injection scheme, aimed at overcoming the technical challenge of ignition under extreme mixture ratios in full-flow LOX/methane engines. Meanwhile, the pre-burners are manufactured using integrated 3D printing technology, effectively resolving the difficulties and low production efficiency of traditional machining in complex flow‑path structures, providing critical support for rapid engine iteration and reliable manufacturing.




Future Outlook


The success of this test marks a phased breakthrough for WeLight in the key technologies of full-flow LOX/methane engines, injecting new momentum into the development of China's liquid rocket engine technology.