The design, which is made of just two primary copper parts, reduces the overall production lead time, as it can be additively manufactured in less than a month. The thrust chamber of the current RL10C-1 model design uses a complex array of brazed-together hydroformed, drawn stainless tubes the 3D printed RL10 copper thrust chamber would replace this model. The Defense Production Act Title III program management office, headquartered at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base near Dayton, Ohio, enabled the recent hot-fire test of the assembly. The RL10 thrust chamber assembly was built from a copper alloy, using SLM technology. The company has been working to incorporate 3D printing technology into the RL10, and other propulsion systems, for ten years, in order to keep production costs down while also enjoying the performance and design capabilities of 3D printing technology.Įileen Drake, Aerojet Rocketdyne CEO and President, said, “Aerojet Rocketdyne has made several major upgrades to the RL10 to enhance the engine’s performance and affordability since it first entered service in the early 1960s. Incorporating additive manufacturing into the RL10 is the next logical step as we look to make the engine even more affordable for our customers.”

Three engines have been derived from the original RL10: the RL10A-4-2, the RL10B-2, and the RL10C-1. Known as the launch industry’s workhorse, it was first tested in 1959, and has helped to send spacecraft to every planet in our solar system, including Voyager 1 and New Horizons, the fastest spacecraft to leave Earth orbit. It recently achieved another aerospace 3D printing milestone, with the successful hot-fire test of a full-scale, additively manufactured thrust chamber assembly for its RL10 rocket engine.Īerojet’s RL10 has been the premier upper-stage rocket engine for over 50 years in the US. The company’s expertise in 3D printing technology and rocket engines is so well-known, Aerojet was even tapped by the US Air Force to define standards for 3D printed rocket engine components. Aerojet hasn’t slowed down, successfully completing hot-fire tests of 3D printed rocket engine injectors for the AR1, and signing a contract with NASA to mature the 3D printed MPS-130 CubeSat propulsion system. We talk a lot about California-based aerospace and defense leader Aerojet Rocketdyne, a subsidiary of Aerojet Rocketdyne Holdings, Inc., starting when it 3D printed an entire liquid oxygen/kerosen engine in just three parts back in 2014.

Free 3d print stl files of rl10 engine