NASA Using 3D-Printed Parts to Test Model of World's Largest Rocket

Engineers at NASA's Marshall Space Flight Center are using 3D printing to make parts for a scale model of NASA's new rocket, the Space Launch System (SLS). To make the parts, the engineers used selective laser melting. The model is being used for acoustic testing, which will show how the powerful noise generated by the engines and boosters may affect the rocket and crew, especially during liftoff. The data will then be used to verify the design of the rocket's sound suppression system.

Transcript

00:00:00 When you're building the most powerful rocket ever it takes a lot of folks developing a lot of technology and a lot of hardware. So we are taking advantage of the SLS program to support it but to also develop some new technology. This current SLS test program is basically focused on getting some acoustic data for the vehicle that will help us to design the water suppression system on the launch pad.

00:00:32 For this program we actually made a mockup of entire vehicle including models of the liquid engines and the solid rocket boosters. The SLS program actually uses the same engines as the Space Shuttle. So in order to do this testing for the acoustic part of the SLS vehicle we actually used the exact same engine models that we used on the Space Shuttle when they were going through acoustic testing. The actual engine models are just

00:00:58 some really simple thrusters that's a simple injector, thrust chamber and nozzle design. And even through it's simple and old hardware we bring it out from time to time to support some different programs. For this acoustic model testing we didn't have enough injectors in our inventory so we actually had to make some new ones. The traditional technique actually uses a lot of intensive machining...there's a lot

00:01:18 of different parts to machine. For our new injectors we actually bypassed all the machining and welding and braising and actually made these new pieces in one piece with selective laser melting which is a 3D printing process. And with this process we actually fabricated them in-house in one piece so we got rid of all the 32 braised joints and all of the five welds. We've actually got over twenty hot

00:01:41 fire tests done on the acoustic models so far and as far as performance goes they have the same performance, or even better performance than the traditional injectors. They have held up really well. After twenty tests we haven't seen any degradation of the part.