SoylentNews is people
SoylentNews
Submission Preview
ESA Test Fires 3D-Printed Platinum Thruster
According to a press release [esa.int] from the European Space Agency (ESA), a team of scientists from Airbus have succesfully tested a prototype 10 N hydrazine thruster, its chamber and nozzle made out of a platinum–rhodium alloy, printed with "a laser machine normally employed for making jewellery, which is the current industrial state-of-the-art for manufacturing with these metals"
The world’s first spacecraft thruster with a platinum combustion chamber and nozzle made by 3D printing has passed its baptism of fire with a series of firings lasting more than an hour and 618 ignitions.
“This is a world first,” explains Steffen Beyer of Airbus Defence & Space, managing the project. “The firings included a single burn of 32 minutes, during which a maximum throat temperature of 1253°C was attained.
The main reason for 3D-printing was economical:
“Considering that platinum currently costs €40 a gram [it seems to be more like 30€, the submitter], 3D printing offers considerable future savings,” added Dr Beyer.
“We produce 150–200 thrusters in this class per year for different customers. 3D printing should allow shorter production cycles and a more flexible production flow, such as manufacturing on demand.”
