3D-printed spacecraft

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3D printing began to be used in production versions of spaceflight hardware in early 2014, when SpaceX first flew a flight-critical propulsion system assembly on an operational Falcon 9 flight. A number of other 3D-printed spacecraft assemblies have been ground-tested, including high-temperature, high-pressure rocket engine combustion chambers [1] and the entire mechanical spaceframe and integral propellant tanks for a small satellite. [2]

Contents

A 3D printed rocket engine successfully launched a rocket to space in 2017, [3] and to orbit in 2018. [4] An almost 90% 3d-printed rocket was launched to space on 23 March 2023 but failed to achieve orbit. In May 30 2024 The startup Angnikul cosmos,(a private startup) in India makes a breakthrough by 3d printing a cryogenic rocket engine from scratch.

History

3D printing began to be used in production versions of spaceflight hardware in early 2014. In January of that year, SpaceX first flew a "Falcon 9 rocket with a 3D-printed Main Oxidizer Valve (MOV) body in one of the nine Merlin 1D engines". The valve is used to control flow of cryogenic liquid oxygen to the engine in a high-pressure, low-temperature, high-vibration physical environment. [5]

In 2015–2016, other 3D-printed spacecraft assemblies were ground-tested, including high-temperature, high-pressure rocket engine combustion chambers and the entire mechanical spaceframe and propellant tanks for a small satellite of a few hundred kilograms. [2]

In June 2014, Aerojet Rocketdyne (AJR) announced that they had "manufactured and successfully tested an engine which had been entirely 3D printed." The Baby Banton engine is a 22 kN (5,000 lbf) thrust engine that runs on LOX/kerosene propellant. [6] By March 2015, AJR had completed a series of hot-fire tests for additively manufactured components for its full-size AR-1 booster engine. [7]

The new United Launch Alliance Vulcan launch vehicle—with first launch no earlier than 2019—is evaluating 3D printing for over 150 parts: 100 polymer and more than 50 metal parts. [8]

By 2017, a 3D printed rocket engine had successfully launched a rocket to space, when on 25 May 2017 an Electron rocket launched to space from New Zealand that was the first to be powered by a main stage rocket "engine made almost entirely using 3D printing." [3] The Electron's first successful orbital launch was on 21 January 2018. [4]

The Terran 1 methane-oxygen rocket manufactured by Relativity Space is about 90% 3D-printed by weight. [9] The company launched the rocket for its first test flight on 23 March 2023 though it ended in a failure. Following a successful liftoff, it failed to reach orbit after an anomaly in the upper stage engine following separation. [10]

Applications

Rocket engines

The SuperDraco engine that provides launch escape system and propulsive-landing thrust for the Dragon V2 passenger-carrying space capsule is fully printed, and was the first fully printed rocket engine. In particular, the engine combustion chamber is printed of Inconel, an alloy of nickel and chromium, using a process of direct metal laser sintering, and operates at a chamber pressure 6,900 kilopascals (1,000 psi) at a very high temperature. The engines are contained in a printed protective nacelle to prevent fault propagation in the event of an engine failure. [11] [1] [12] The SuperDraco engine produces 73 kilonewtons (16,400 lbf) of thrust. [13] The engine completed a full qualification test in May 2014, and is slated to make its first orbital spaceflight in 2018 or 2019. [5] [12]

The ability to 3D print the complex parts was key to achieving the low-mass objective of the engine. It is a very complex engine, and it was very difficult to form all the cooling channels, the injector head, and the throttling mechanism. ... [The ability] "to print very high strength advanced alloys ... was crucial to being able to create the SuperDraco engine." [14]

The rocket engine for the Electron launch vehicle is made nearly entirely using 3D printing. [3]

Spacecraft structure

3D-printed satellite mechanical structure, Arkyd-300, February 2014. The torus holds the propellant and provides the structural frame for the satellite. PlanetaryResources 3D printed satellite--201402-cropped.jpg
3D-printed satellite mechanical structure, Arkyd-300, February 2014. The torus holds the propellant and provides the structural frame for the satellite.

By 2014, 3D printing had begun to be used to print the entire mechanical structure and integral propellant tanks of a small spacecraft. [2]

Related Research Articles

An arcjet rocket or arcjet thruster is a form of electrically powered spacecraft propulsion, in which an electrical discharge (arc) is created in a flow of propellant. This imparts additional energy to the propellant, so that one can extract more work out of each kilogram of propellant, at the expense of increased power consumption and (usually) higher cost. Also, the thrust levels available from typically used arcjet engines are very low compared with chemical engines.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Centaur (rocket stage)</span> Family of rocket stages which can be used as a space tug

The Centaur is a family of rocket propelled upper stages that has been in use since 1962. It is currently produced by U.S. launch service provider United Launch Alliance, with one main active version and one version under development. The 3.05 m (10.0 ft) diameter Common Centaur/Centaur III flies as the upper stage of the Atlas V launch vehicle, and the 5.4 m (18 ft) diameter Centaur V has been developed as the upper stage of ULA's new Vulcan rocket. Centaur was the first rocket stage to use liquid hydrogen (LH2) and liquid oxygen (LOX) propellants, a high-energy combination that is ideal for upper stages but has significant handling difficulties.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Rocketdyne</span> American rocket engine design and production company

Rocketdyne was an American rocket engine design and production company headquartered in Canoga Park, in the western San Fernando Valley of suburban Los Angeles, in southern California.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">RL10</span> Liquid fuel cryogenic rocket engine, typically used on rocket upper stages

The RL10 is a liquid-fuel cryogenic rocket engine built in the United States by Aerojet Rocketdyne that burns cryogenic liquid hydrogen and liquid oxygen propellants. Modern versions produce up to 110 kN (24,729 lbf) of thrust per engine in vacuum. Three RL10 versions are in production for the Centaur upper stage of the Atlas V and the DCSS of the Delta IV. Three more versions are in development for the Exploration Upper Stage of the Space Launch System and the Centaur V of the Vulcan rocket.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Aerojet Rocketdyne</span> American aerospace propulsion manufacturer

Aerojet Rocketdyne is a subsidiary of American defense company L3Harris Technologies that manufactures rocket, hypersonic, and electric propulsive systems for space, defense, civil and commercial applications. Aerojet traces its origins to the General Tire and Rubber Company established in 1915, while Rocketdyne was created as a division of North American Aviation in 1955. Aerojet Rocketdyne was formed in 2013 when Aerojet and Pratt & Whitney Rocketdyne were merged, following the latter's acquisition by GenCorp from Pratt & Whitney. On April 27, 2015, the name of the holding company, GenCorp Inc., was changed to Aerojet Rocketdyne Holdings, Inc. Aerojet Rocketdyne Holdings was acquired by L3Harris in July 2023 for $4.7 billion.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Launch escape system</span> A system to get the crew to safety if a rocket launch fails

A launch escape system (LES) or launch abort system (LAS) is a crew-safety system connected to a space capsule. It is used in the event of a critical emergency to quickly separate the capsule from its launch vehicle in case of an emergency requiring the abort of the launch, such as an impending explosion. The LES is typically controlled by a combination of automatic rocket failure detection, and a manual activation for the crew commander's use. The LES may be used while the launch vehicle is on the launch pad, or during its ascent. Such systems are usually of three types:

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Pressure-fed engine</span> Rocket engine operation method

The pressure-fed engine is a class of rocket engine designs. A separate gas supply, usually helium, pressurizes the propellant tanks to force fuel and oxidizer to the combustion chamber. To maintain adequate flow, the tank pressures must exceed the combustion chamber pressure.

Aerojet was an American rocket and missile propulsion manufacturer based primarily in Rancho Cordova, California, with divisions in Redmond, Washington, Orange and Gainesville in Virginia, and Camden, Arkansas. Aerojet was owned by GenCorp. In 2013, Aerojet was merged by GenCorp with the former Pratt & Whitney Rocketdyne to form Aerojet Rocketdyne.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Antares (rocket)</span> Medium-lift expendable rocket by Northrop Grumman

Antares, known during early development as Taurus II, is an expendable launch system developed by Orbital Sciences Corporation and the Pivdenne Design Bureau to launch the Cygnus spacecraft to the International Space Station as part of NASA's COTS and CRS programs. Able to launch payloads heavier than 8,000 kg (18,000 lb) into low Earth orbit, Antares is the largest rocket operated by Northrop Grumman. Antares launches from the Mid-Atlantic Regional Spaceport and made its inaugural flight on April 21, 2013. Antares 100 was retired in 2014 and series 200 was retired in 2023 due to component unavailability. As of January 2024 Antares 300 is under development.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">SpaceX Draco</span> Line of hypergolic liquid rocket engines by SpaceX

The SpaceX Draco is a hypergolic liquid rocket engine designed and built by SpaceX for use in their space capsules. Two engine types have been built to date: Draco and SuperDraco.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Boeing Starliner</span> Class of partially reusable crew capsules

The Boeing Starliner is a class of partially reusable spacecraft designed to transport crew to and from the International Space Station (ISS) and other low-Earth-orbit destinations. It is manufactured by Boeing, with the Commercial Crew Program (CCP) of NASA as the lead customer. The spacecraft consists of a crew capsule that can be reused on up to ten missions and an expendable service module.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">SpaceX rocket engines</span> Rocket engines developed by SpaceX

Since the founding of SpaceX in 2002, the company has developed four families of rocket engines — Merlin, Kestrel, Draco and SuperDraco — and since 2016 developed the Raptor methane rocket engine and after 2020, a line of methalox thrusters.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Green Propellant Infusion Mission</span> NASA satellite testing a new rocket fuel

The Green Propellant Infusion Mission (GPIM) was a NASA technology demonstrator project that tested a less toxic and higher performance/efficiency chemical propellant for next-generation launch vehicles and CubeSat spacecraft. When compared to the present high-thrust and high-performance industry standard for orbital maneuvering systems, which for decades, have exclusively been reliant upon toxic hydrazine based propellant formulations, the "greener" hydroxylammonium nitrate (HAN) monopropellant offers many advantages for future satellites, including longer mission durations, additional maneuverability, increased payload space and simplified launch processing. The GPIM was managed by NASA's Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Alabama, and was part of NASA's Technology Demonstration Mission Program within the Space Technology Mission Directorate.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">SpaceX Dragon 2</span> 2020s class of partially reusable spacecraft

Dragon 2 is a class of partially reusable spacecraft developed, manufactured, and operated by American space company SpaceX for flights to the International Space Station (ISS) and private spaceflight missions. There are two variants of the Dragon spacecraft: Crew Dragon, capable of ferrying four crewmembers, and Cargo Dragon, a replacement for the original Dragon 1 used to carry freight to and from space. The spacecraft consists of a reusable space capsule and an expendable trunk module. The spacecraft launches atop a Falcon 9 Block 5 rocket, and the capsule returns to Earth through splashdown. It has proven to be the most cost-effective spacecraft in history to be used by NASA.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">SuperDraco</span> Family of rocket engines developed by SpaceX for use on its Crewed Dragon spacecraft

SuperDraco is a hypergolic propellant rocket engine designed and built by SpaceX. It is part of the SpaceX Draco family of rocket engines. A redundant array of eight SuperDraco engines provides fault-tolerant propulsion for use as a launch escape system for the SpaceX Dragon 2, a passenger-carrying space capsule.

Relativity Space Inc. is an American aerospace manufacturing company headquartered in Long Beach, California. Relativity Space is developing manufacturing technologies, launch vehicles, and rocket engines for commercial orbital launch services. The company is notable for manufacturing most of their Terran 1 and Terran R rocket parts using 3D printing. As of April 2024, Terran R is on track for initial launch in 2026.

NASA's Pathfinder Technology Demonstrator (PTD) Project is a series of tech demonstrations of technologies aboard a series of nanosatellites known as CubeSats, providing significant enhancements to the performance of these versatile spacecraft. Each of the five planned PTD missions consist of a 6-unit (6U) CubeSat with expandable solar arrays.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Commercial Crew Program</span> NASA human spaceflight program for the International Space Station

The Commercial Crew Program (CCP) provides commercially operated crew transportation service to and from the International Space Station (ISS) under contract to NASA, conducting crew rotations between the expeditions of the International Space Station program. American space manufacturer SpaceX began providing service in 2020, using the Crew Dragon spacecraft, and NASA plans to add Boeing when its Boeing Starliner spacecraft becomes operational no earlier than 2025. NASA has contracted for six operational missions from Boeing and fourteen from SpaceX, ensuring sufficient support for ISS through 2030.

Boeing Starliner Spacecraft 2 Boeing Starliner spacecraft

Boeing Starliner Spacecraft 2 is the first of two active Boeing CST-100 Starliner spacecraft developed and built under NASA's Commercial Crew Program. The spacecraft was originally scheduled to make its maiden flight on Boe-CFT, the first crewed flight test of the Starliner spacecraft, although following the partial failure of the other CST-100 on Boe-OFT which required a repeat uncrewed test (Boe-OFT-2) of the spacecraft to be scheduled, Spacecraft 2 was reassigned to Boe-OFT-2 and also scheduled to fly Starliner-1 after being reassigned from CFT mission.

Terran 1 was an expendable two-stage small-lift launch vehicle developed by Relativity Space. Development began in 2017 and the rocket was retired in 2023. Most structures and components of the vehicle are manufactured with 3D printing processes.

References

  1. 1 2 Kramer, Miriam (2014-05-30). "SpaceX Unveils Dragon V2 Spaceship, a Manned Space Taxi for Astronauts — Meet Dragon V2: SpaceX's Manned Space Taxi for Astronaut Trips". space.com. Retrieved 2014-05-30.
  2. 1 2 3 Diamandis, Peter (2014-06-26). "Update from Planetary Resources". Peter H. Diamandis channel. Planetary Resources. Retrieved 2014-07-30.
  3. 1 2 3 Majewski, Candice (6 June 2017). "A 3D-printed rocket engine just launched a new era of space exploration" . The Independent. Archived from the original on 2017-06-11.
  4. 1 2 Clark, Stephen (January 21, 2018). "Rocket Lab delivers nanosatellites to orbit on first successful test launch". Spaceflight Now.
  5. 1 2 "SpaceX Launches 3D-Printed Part to Space, Creates Printed Engine Chamber for Crewed Spaceflight". SpaceX. Archived from the original on 2017-08-25. Retrieved 2014-08-01. Compared with a traditionally cast part, a printed valve body has superior strength, ductility, and fracture resistance, with a lower variability in materials properties. The MOV body was printed in less than two days, compared with a typical castings cycle measured in months. The valve's extensive test program – including a rigorous series of engine firings, component level qualification testing and materials testing – has since qualified the printed MOV body to fly interchangeably with cast parts on all Falcon 9 flights going forward.
  6. ↑ Krassenstein, Brian (2014-06-26). "Aerojet Rocketdyne 3D Prints An Entire Engine in Just Three Parts". 3DPrint. Retrieved 2014-08-08.
  7. ↑ "Aerojet Rocketdyne Hot-Fire Tests Additive Manufactured Components for the AR1 Engine to Maintain 2019 Delivery". Aerojet Rocketdyne. 2015-03-15. Retrieved 5 June 2015.
  8. ↑ Stone, Jeff (2015-04-21). "Vulcan Rocket: 3D Printing Launch Plan Includes More Than 100 Components". International Business Times. Retrieved 22 April 2015.
  9. ↑ Relativity Space (August 2020). Terran 1 : Payload User's Guide Version 2.0 (PDF). Archived (PDF) from the original on 2021-08-23.
  10. ↑ Knapp, Alex. "Relativity Space Launches Its First 3D-Printed Rocket, But Fails To Reach Orbit". Forbes. Retrieved 2023-03-23.
  11. ↑ Norris, Guy (2014-05-30). "SpaceX Unveils 'Step Change' Dragon 'V2'". Aviation Week. Archived from the original on 2014-05-31. Retrieved 2014-05-30.
  12. 1 2 Bergin, Chris (2014-05-30). "SpaceX lifts the lid on the Dragon V2 crew spacecraft". NASAspaceflight.com. Retrieved 2014-05-30.
  13. ↑ James, Michael; Salton, Alexandria; Downing, Micah (November 12, 2013), Draft Environmental Assessment for Issuing an Experimental Permit to SpaceX for Operation of the Dragon Fly Vehicle at the McGregor Test Site, Texas, May 2014 – Appendices (PDF), Blue Ridge Research and Consulting, LCC, p. 12, retrieved August 8, 2014
  14. ↑ Foust, Jeff (2014-05-30). "SpaceX unveils its "21st century spaceship"". NewSpace Journal. Retrieved 2014-05-31.
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