Aerojet Rocketdyne tests complex additively manufactured injector in upper stage rocket engine
Aerojet Rocketdyne, a subsidiary of Aerojet Rocketdyne Holdings, Inc. based in Sacramento, California, USA, has completed a series of successful hot-fire tests of its RL10 upper-stage rocket engine. The RL10 development engine, dubbed XR708, includes a core main injector built using metal Additive Manufacturing technology.
“Updating our products to take advantage of the advancements we’ve made in Additive Manufacturing technology is a key part of our strategy to deliver more affordable products to our customers while at the same time maintain the reliability they’ve come to expect,” stated Aerojet Rocketdyne CEO and President Eileen Drake. “This successful series of tests validates the rigorous approach we’ve been taking and confirms we are on the right path. Incorporating this technology will enable us to reduce significantly production lead times and make our products more cost competitive.”
The work was done in conjunction with the U.S. Air Force and NASA’s Glenn Research Center as part of the RL10 Additive Manufacturing Study (RAMS) programme, which aims to demonstrate the capability of additively manufactured complex parts and qualify them for use in large rocket engines.
“While we have had success developing Additive Manufacturing technology for a broad range of products – from discrete engine components to hot-fire testing engines and propulsion systems made entirely with additive manufacturing – this is among the most complex components we have tested in a large rocket engine to date,” stated Dr Jay Littles, Director of Advanced Launch Programs at Aerojet Rocketdyne.
“However, we’ve just scratched the surface of what this technology will do to revolutionise our industry. Our design engineers are just starting to take advantage of the expanded possibilities enabled by this new manufacturing technology. They are now free to design products that were once thought impossible to build due to the constraints of traditional manufacturing,” added Littles.
