“A successful firing test shows that Europe’s lightweight Vega launcher is well on its way to cheaper and more efficient launches in 2025,” reports Space.com, citing officials at the European Space Agency (ESA).
“3D printing has changed rocket development by greatly reducing upfront manufacturing time,” argues Popular Mechanics:
The new part belongs to Vega’s M10 engine, which the ESA hopes to put into space beginning in 2025. As part of a “hot fire” test, the engine was fired 19 times for a combined 450 seconds. This kind of test mimics the most challenging conditions a system might face during launch so scientists can identify any weaknesses and help shore them up as development continues. Watch it here… The engine runs on liquid oxygen and liquid methane, which is an environmental improvement over the solid aluminum and ammonia the current launch assembly uses…. Not only is this piece 3D-printed, but it’s also been scaled up over time beginning with the smallest initial model in 2018.
After each model is printed, it’s tested using technologies like ultrasound to make sure it’s structurally sound, and then it’s subjected to the normal battery of tests…. The ESA says the engine performed well in the tests, and it hopes to test the fully assembled development model of the engine later in 2020… The ESA says it can build more complicated designs in an overall more agile process by using 3D printing, which removes the need for special manufacturing of machine parts, die casts, and more.
The article also notes Vega is “a semi-privatized project, because a commercial service actually launches the rockets.
“Indeed, like NASA, the boundaries between private and public development have blurred in recent decades.”
of this story at Slashdot.
Source:: Slashdot