NASA 3-D Printed Rocket Engine Injector Undergoes Successful Hot-Fire Tests [Video]

The goal of reducing the cost of space hardware looks more attainable now. NASA has successfully conducted a hot-fire test on a 3-D printed rocket engine component, the agency confirmed in a press release.

NASA described the result of the tests as a milestone, as the component passed one of the most important tests needed to determine its reliability, withstanding an engine firing that reportedly generated around 20,000 pounds of thrust.

According to NASA, liquid oxygen and gaseous hydrogen were passed through the rocket engine component to the combustion chamber, which then produced a huge amount of thrust, said to be 10 times greater than the thrust a 3-D printed injector had ever generated. 

While 3-D printing technology is best known nowadays because of 3-D printed guns, NASA believes that the technology is a potential way of reducing the cost of flight hardware in the near future.

"This successful test of a 3-D printed rocket injector brings NASA significantly closer to proving this innovative technology can be used to reduce the cost of flight hardware," said Chris Singer, the director NASA Marshall Space Flight Center's Engineering Directorate.

The fabricated rocket injected is composed of several layers of nickel chromium alloy, which were subjected to laser melting to produce a component with 28 elements for channeling and propellant mixing purposes.

The component is said to be as big as the injectors of small engines and its design was based from injectors of large engines like the RS-25, which will be used to power rockets that will embark on deep space human explorations.

Another key feature of this newly-tested injector is the smaller number of components. Previous injectors have had around 115 parts, while the new one only has two, which translates to less effort and faster assembly time.

"We took the design of an existing injector that we already tested and modified the design so the injector could be made with a 3-D printer. We will be able to directly compare test data for both the traditionally assembled injector and the 3-D printed injector to see if there's any difference in performance," said Brad Bullard, the propulsion engineer that designed the injector.