Scientists want to use a self-consuming rocket to help control the space junk problem

• UK researchers have designed a self-eating rocket engine that burns its own body for fuel.
• They hope the design can help curb the worsening junk problem in space.

Scientists in the UK have developed a self-consuming rocket they hope can be used to reduce space junk.

A team of engineers at the University of Glasgow announced in a press release on Wednesday that they have built and tested an "autophage" — taken from the Latin word for "self-eating" — rocket engine that eats parts of itself for fuel.

The researchers said the rocket could help "avoid adding to the problem of space debris — discarded waste that orbits the Earth and could hamper future missions."

The team named its Ouroborous-3 prototype after the ancient mythical serpent that continuously swallows its own tail.

And somewhat like the creature, the rocket engine is designed to burn up its rear end once it has used up all the fuel within it.

The team said the engine's combustion creates waste heat that melts parts of its plastic body, which gets funneled into the combustion chamber and used as additional fuel. That extra fuel is then burned along with the engine's regular liquid propellants, according to the researchers.

By essentially using its own body as fuel, the process frees up additional space on the rocket for more important cargo, like tiny nanosatellites that get delivered to space, the team said in its press release.

"A conventional rocket's structure makes up between five and 12 percent of its total mass. Our tests show that the Ouroborous-3 can burn a very similar amount of its own structural mass as propellant," Patrick Harkness, who led the project, said in the press release.

"If we could make at least some of that mass available for payload instead, it would be a compelling prospect for future rocket designs," he added.

When the rocket has finally used up all its fuel, it burns the rest of itself up in a quick explosion, USA Today reported.

The tanks of traditional rockets, on the other hand, typically become space debris or just fall back to Earth once they're done.

So, if a rocket engine like the Ouroborous-3 can be used regularly, it could help curb space's worsening junk build-up.

The researchers said in the press release that with more funding from the UK Space Agency, they could further develop their design.