3D printing 3D printing, or additive manufacturing, is the construction of a three-dimensional object from a CAD model or a digital 3D model. It can be done in a variety of processes in which material is deposited, joined or solidified under computer ...

began to be used in production versions of spaceflight hardware in early 2014, when

SpaceX Space Exploration Technologies Corp., commonly referred to as SpaceX, is an America, American space technology company headquartered at the SpaceX Starbase, Starbase development site in Starbase, Texas. Since its founding in 2002, the compa ...

first flew a flight-critical propulsion system assembly on an operational

Falcon 9 Falcon 9 is a Reusable launch system#Partial reusable launch systems, partially reusable, two-stage-to-orbit, medium-lift launch vehicle designed and manufactured in the United States by SpaceX. The first Falcon 9 launch was on June 4, 2010, an ...

flight. A number of other 3D-printed spacecraft assemblies have been ground-tested, including high-temperature, high-pressure rocket engine combustion chambers and the entire mechanical spaceframe and integral propellant tanks for a

small satellite A small satellite, miniaturized satellite, or smallsat is a satellite of low mass and size, usually under . While all such satellites can be referred to as "small", different classifications are used to categorize them based on mass. Satellites c ...

. A 3D printed rocket engine successfully launched a rocket to

space Space is a three-dimensional continuum containing positions and directions. In classical physics, physical space is often conceived in three linear dimensions. Modern physicists usually consider it, with time, to be part of a boundless ...

in 2017, and to

orbit In celestial mechanics, an orbit (also known as orbital revolution) is the curved trajectory of an object such as the trajectory of a planet around a star, or of a natural satellite around a planet, or of an artificial satellite around an ...

in 2018. 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

began to be used in production versions of spaceflight hardware in early 2014. In January of that year,

first flew a "

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 In physics, cryogenics is the production and behaviour of materials at very low temperatures. The 13th International Institute of Refrigeration's (IIR) International Congress of Refrigeration (held in Washington, DC in 1971) endorsed a univers ...

liquid oxygen Liquid oxygen, sometimes abbreviated as LOX or LOXygen, is a clear cyan liquid form of dioxygen . It was used as the oxidizer in the first liquid-fueled rocket invented in 1926 by Robert H. Goddard, an application which is ongoing. Physical ...

to the engine in a high-pressure, low-temperature, high-vibration physical environment. 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. In June 2014,

Aerojet Rocketdyne Aerojet Rocketdyne is a subsidiary of American Arms industry, defense company L3Harris that manufactures rocket, Hypersonic flight, hypersonic, and electric propulsive systems for space, defense, civil and commercial applications. Aerojet traces ...

(AJR) announced that they had "manufactured and successfully tested an engine which had been entirely 3D printed." The ''Baby Banton'' engine is a thrust engine that runs on

LOX Lox is a fillet of brined salmon, which may be smoked. Lox is frequently served on a bagel with cream cheese, and often garnished with tomato, onion, cucumber, and capers. Etymology The American English word ''lox'' is a borrowing of Yiddi ...

kerosene Kerosene, or paraffin, is a combustibility, combustible hydrocarbon liquid which is derived from petroleum. It is widely used as a fuel in Aviation fuel, aviation as well as households. Its name derives from the Greek (''kērós'') meaning " ...

propellant. By March 2015, AJR had completed a series of hot-fire tests for additively manufactured components for its full-size AR-1 booster engine. The new

United Launch Alliance United Launch Alliance, LLC (ULA) is an American launch service provider formed in December 2006 as a joint venture between Lockheed Martin Space and Boeing Defense, Space & Security. The company designs, assembles, sells and launches rockets ...

Vulcan

launch vehicle A launch vehicle is typically a rocket-powered vehicle designed to carry a payload (a crewed spacecraft or satellites) from Earth's surface or lower atmosphere to outer space. The most common form is the ballistic missile-shaped multistage ...

—with first launch no earlier than 2019—is evaluating 3D printing for over 150 parts: 100 polymer and more than 50 metal parts. By 2017, a 3D printed rocket engine had successfully launched a rocket to

, when on 25 May 2017 an

Electron The electron (, or in nuclear reactions) is a subatomic particle with a negative one elementary charge, elementary electric charge. It is a fundamental particle that comprises the ordinary matter that makes up the universe, along with up qua ...

rocket launched to space from

New Zealand New Zealand () is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and List of islands of New Zealand, over 600 smaller islands. It is the List of isla ...

that was the first to be powered by a main stage rocket "engine made almost entirely using 3D printing." The Electron's first successful orbital launch was on 21 January 2018. The

Terran 1 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 ...

methane-oxygen rocket manufactured by

Relativity Space Relativity Space Inc. is an American aerospace manufacturer, aerospace manufacturing company headquartered in Long Beach, California. Relativity Space is new product development, developing manufacturing technologies, launch vehicles, and rock ...

is about 90% 3D-printed by weight. 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.

Applications

Rocket engines

The

SuperDraco 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 escap ...

engine that provides

launch escape system 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 requiri ...

and propulsive-landing thrust for the

Dragon V2 Dragon 2 is a class of partially reusable spacecraft developed, manufactured, and operated by the American space company SpaceX for flights to the International Space Station (ISS) and private spaceflight missions. The spacecraft, which cons ...

passenger-carrying

space capsule A space capsule is a spacecraft designed to transport cargo, scientific experiments, and/or astronauts to and from space. Capsules are distinguished from other spacecraft by the ability to survive reentry and return a payload to the Earth's surfa ...

is fully printed, and was the first fully printed

rocket engine A rocket engine is a reaction engine, producing thrust in accordance with Newton's third law by ejecting reaction mass rearward, usually a high-speed Jet (fluid), jet of high-temperature gas produced by the combustion of rocket propellants stor ...

. In particular, the engine combustion chamber is printed of

Inconel Inconel is a nickel-chromium-based superalloy often utilized in extreme environments where components are subjected to high temperature, pressure or Mechanical load, mechanical loads. Inconel alloys are oxidation- and corrosion-resistant. When he ...

, an alloy of nickel and chromium, using a process of

direct metal laser sintering Selective laser sintering (SLS) is an additive manufacturing (AM) technique that uses a laser as the power and heat source to sinter powdered material (typically nylon or polyamide), aiming the laser automatically at points in space defined b ...

, and operates at a

chamber pressure Within firearms, chamber pressure is the pressure exerted by a cartridge case's outside walls on the inside of a firearm's chamber when the cartridge is fired. The SI unit for chamber pressure is the megapascal (MPa), while the American SAAMI uses ...

at a very high temperature. The engines are contained in a printed protective

nacelle A nacelle ( ) is a streamlined container for aircraft parts such as Aircraft engine, engines, fuel or equipment. When attached entirely outside the airframe, it is sometimes called a pod, in which case it is attached with a Hardpoint#Pylon, pylo ...

to prevent fault propagation in the event of an engine failure. The SuperDraco engine produces of thrust. The engine completed a full

qualification Qualification may refer to: Processes * Qualifications-Based Selection (QBS), a competitive contract procurement process established by the United States Congress * Process qualification, ensures that manufacturing and production processes can ...

test in May 2014, and is slated to make its first

orbital spaceflight An orbital spaceflight (or orbital flight) is a spaceflight in which a spacecraft is placed on a trajectory where it could remain in space for at least one orbit. To do this around the Earth, it must be on a free trajectory which has an altit ...

in 2018 or 2019. 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. ... he ability"to print very high strength advanced alloys ... was crucial to being able to create the SuperDraco engine." The rocket engine for the

is made nearly entirely using 3D printing.

Spacecraft structure

PlanetaryResources 3D printed satellite--201402-cropped

By 2014, 3D printing had begun to be used to print the entire mechanical

structure A structure is an arrangement and organization of interrelated elements in a material object or system, or the object or system so organized. Material structures include man-made objects such as buildings and machines and natural objects such as ...

and integral propellant tanks of a

small Small means of insignificant size Size in general is the Magnitude (mathematics), magnitude or dimensions of a thing. More specifically, ''geometrical size'' (or ''spatial size'') can refer to three geometrical measures: length, area, or ...

spacecraft.

References

{{Reflist, 20em

Spacecraft A spacecraft is a vehicle that is designed spaceflight, to fly and operate in outer space. Spacecraft are used for a variety of purposes, including Telecommunications, communications, Earth observation satellite, Earth observation, Weather s ...

Spaceflight technology Spacecraft