ARTICLE: NASA’s Rocket Revolution: 3D-Printed Nozzles Propel Deep Space Exploration

NASA has developed a 3D-printed rocket engine nozzle using a new aluminum variant, part of the RAMFIRE project. This innovation aims to produce lighter rocket components for future deep space missions, catering to increased cargo needs. The nozzles underwent rigorous testing and demonstrated their suitability for deep space conditions. The technology also holds potential for broader aerospace applications, such as satellites and other aerospace components.

The RAMFIRE project, funded under NASA’s Space Technology Mission Directorate (STMD), focuses on advancing lightweight, additively manufactured aluminum rocket nozzles. The nozzles are designed with small internal channels that keep the nozzle cool enough to prevent melting. Manufacturing for a large-scale aerospike demonstration nozzle with integral channels is underway at the RPM Innovation (RPMI) facility in Rapid City, South Dakota. The laser powder directed energy deposition (LP-DED) process creates a melt pool using a laser and blows powder into the melt pool to deposit material layer by layer.

NASA and Elementum 3D first developed the novel aluminum variant known as A6061-RAM2 to build the nozzle and modify the powder used with laser powder directed energy deposition (LP-DED) technology. Another commercial partner, RPM Innovations (RPMI), used the newly invented aluminum and specialized powder to build the RAMFIRE nozzles using their LP-DED process.

NASA’s Moon to Mars objectives require the capability to send more cargo to deep space destinations. The novel alloy could play an instrumental role in this by enabling the manufacturing of lightweight rocket components capable of withstanding high structural loads. The RAMFIRE project has used the RAMFIRE aluminum material and additive manufacturing process to construct other advanced large components for demonstration purposes, including a 36-inch diameter aerospike nozzle with complex integral coolant channels and a vacuum-jacketed tank for cryogenic fluid applications.