China3D printingNet, June 12, the US National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA)’s unmanned space launch system (SLS) giant rocket will orbit the moon during its first launch. This is the initial test flight of the Artemis 1 mission. Part. This will mark the beginning of one of the most watched space programs this year. Artemis is an ongoing manned space program funded by the government. Its goal is to land the first woman and second man on the moon by 2024, especially in the lunar south pole. SLS is the most powerful rocket ever built, powered by four super engines designed to handle some of the most extreme temperatures because they move large amounts of propellant to generate enough energy for the rocket to escape the gravity of the earth .
As part of a long-term partnership with NASA, Aerojet Rocketdyne of Sacramento, California will manufacture a total of 24 RS-25 rocket engines to support up to 6 SLS flights, with a total contract value of nearly US$3.5 billion. The company was initially scheduled to produce six new RS-25 engines, and recently won a contract modification contract worth $1.79 billion to manufacture 18 additional RS-25 rocket engines to support future deep space exploration missions.
“This contract allows NASA to work with Aerojet Rocketdyne to manufacture rocket engines for future missions,” said John Honeycutt, SLS project manager at NASA’s Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Alabama. The reliable engine of the aircraft mission has been modified to make it more powerful and can launch the next batch ofArtemisAstronauts stepping on the surface of the moon during a mission. “
Although the “Endeavour” space shuttle is now on display at the California Science Center in Los Angeles, its engines and the engines used to launch the “Discover” and “Atlantis” space shuttles have been maintained by SLS. However, unlike the space shuttle, SLS does not reuse its engines. Once the core phase disappears about eight minutes after launch, the engine will disintegrate during the return process. At present, there are 16 RS-25 engines remaining in NASA’s space shuttle program. Aerojet Rocketdyne has upgraded and tested them, and is ready to support the first four SLS missions. However, as more SLS missions are expected to begin by the end of this century, Aerojet Rocketdyne is required to build more engines.In fact, advanced manufacturing techniques (including3D printing) Six new consumable RS-25 engines were assembled, thereby reducing the cost and time of manufacturing each engine.
The other 18 engines will continue to take advantage of the optimization of the supply chain, combined with the additive manufacturing (AM) technology that has been introduced in the initial production of the SLS engine.
Initial SLS configuration, powered by RS-25 rocket engine (Source: NASA)
Using AM technology to reduce costs and improve engine efficiency is a top priority for aerospace and defense companies. Alan Fung, a senior engineer of Aerojet Rocketdyne’s additive manufacturing team, said that hundreds of people have been engaged in the design, development and manufacturing of engines, which mainly rely on laser powder bed fusion technology to additively manufacture at least 35 units. Parts on each engine.
“Our main focus is to make reliable, sturdy printed parts that will work 100% of the time. A few years ago, we started designing some of these parts to ensure that they have been tested and certified by NASA’s space program. This is essential to the safety of upcoming manned missions.
Aerojet Rocketdyne’s additive manufacturing team, from left to right: Bryan Webb, Ivan Cazares and Alan Fung (Source: Aerojet Rocketdyne)
With the delivery of these new engines scheduled to begin in 2023, we will not waste any time.Alan FungSaid: “One of the main tasks of the first round is to work closely with NASA to develop a certification program. Now there is a process for manufacturing parts using AM that is known to be safe. This is exactly what we need to ensure that our parts can be used for Future SLS missions provide the true conditions for working on the powered engine.”
3D printingSimplifies the production of multiple RS-25 parts and components, lowers the production cost of the engine, and improves reliability at the same time. The structural integrity of the engine will be improved when there are fewer welds in the parts. This is a very manual and complicated manufacturing process. In fact, the manufacture of rocket engines is so complicated that only a few countries can manufacture them.
China3D printingOnline reviews: These new RS-25 engines are an upgraded version of the space shuttle engine, and the space shuttle engine has been the most reliable engine in history. Engineers spent 40 years making the reciprocating engine as reliable, safe and high-performance as possible. But we think that through additive manufacturing, we can also try to reduce costs. This technology will completely change the way we build engines”
Faced with so many challenges, having a certified rocket engine to drive the next lunar explorer into orbit is like a stepping stone to the journey forward. After all, the SLS rocket is the backbone of NASA’s deep space exploration, and it will prepare mankind for long-term space travel and the eventual journey to Mars.
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