How 3D Printing Could Help Replace Russian Rockets - Defense One: Dynetics, of Huntsville, Ala., and Aerojet Rocketdyne, of Sacramento, Calif., are already building a replacement engine that could power the Atlas V for military launches and future NASA manned space launches. Much of the engine has been built using a 3-D printing technique know as additive manufacturing.
“Going to additive manufacturing is going to be one of the biggest cost and time savers on this engine,” said Steve Cook, director of corporate development at Dynetics. The team has built a key rocket engine part, know as the pre-burner, with a new manufacturing process for this type of part. What typically takes 15 months, Cook said, they did in 15 days.
“It’s what is used to generate the hot gas that turns the turbo pump on the main engine,” he said.
The company plans to test the part before the end of the year.
Additive manufacturing could save substantial time and money in engine development, but the technology is still unproven, said Marco Caceres, senior analyst and director of space studies at the Teal Group consulting firm. “Right now, what the Air Force needs with regard to a new engine is precisely that, to save a lot of time and money,” he said.
