UCF’s Hypersonic Technology Advances

Over the past year, the DoD has awarded funding to hypersonics research led by University of Central Florida Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering Professor Kareem Ahmed to support the advancements he’s making in the technology. The support is a testament to the progress UCF has made in the field. Read on to learn more about these advances.

3D-Printed Engines Propel Next Industrial Revolution

The new possibility of 3D-printed aluminum engine parts will mean significant savings for NASA in terms of time, money, and, most importantly, the weight of future spacecraft. Elementum 3D Inc., a partner on the project, is now bringing the benefits of that technology to its customers.

Building a Better Rocket with the Help of Piezoelectric Sensors

Specialized measurement technology helps aerospace engineers improve combustion chambers and fuel injectors. In Switzerland, two ambitious student organizations have been using iterative pressure measurements to develop and build a significantly more efficient next generation of rocket engines. Read on to learn more.

HYPERFIRE: A Sub-Scale Non-Reacting Flow Test System

Engineers at NASAs Stennis Space Center have developed the HYdrocarbon Propellants Enabling Reproduction of Flows in Rocket Engines (HYPERFIRE), a sub-scale, non-reacting flow test system. HYPERFIRE uses heated ethane to enable physical simulation of rocket engines powered by a broad range of propellants in an inexpensive, accurate, and simple fashion. Read on to learn more.

Using 3D Printing to Strengthen Jet Engines

Skoltech engineers have used a 3D printer to fabricate — and investigate the mechanical characteristics of — samples of bronze-steel alloys previously unknown to materials science.

Low Creep, Low Relaxation Fiber-Reinforced Polymer Composites

Inflatable and deployable beams and masts are often made of polymer composites and may be stored for one to two years in space before deployment.

Analyses Find Cause of Fatal Problem in Rocket Engine Combustors

Advanced analyses shed light on the mechanism of a deadly problem plaguing combustion chambers in rocket engines.

Advancing Aerospike Technology Through Algorithmic Engineering

HyperganicMunich, Germanywww.hyperganic.com EOSKrailling, Germanywww.eos.info/en In May 2022, Hyperganic built the world's largest 3D-printed Aerospike rocket engine. It's also the...

Simple, Fuel-Efficient Rocket Engine for Cheaper, Lighter Spacecraft

The engine could make rockets not only more fuel-efficient, but also more lightweight and less complicated to construct.

Origami Solves Challenge of Storing and Moving Rocket Fuel

A folded plastic bladder could store and pump the fuel.

Cladding and Freeform Deposition for Coolant Channel Closeout

This method is a faster way to manufacture combustion chambers and nozzles for aerospace propulsion as well as heat exchangers in oil and gas applications.

Rotating Detonation Engines for Rocket Propulsion

These engines will allow upper stage rockets for space missions to become lighter, travel farther, and burn more cleanly.

Rocket Thruster Exploits the Mechanism Behind Solar Flares

Thrusters based on magnetic reconnection could complete long-distance missions in a shorter period of time.

Oxide Dispersion Strengthened Medium Entropy Alloy

This additively manufactured alloy is tailored for high-temperature applications.

Water-Powered Engines Offer Satellite Mobility

The technology could allow deep-space exploration without running out of propellant.

Facility Focus: NASA John C. Stennis Space Center

Stennis now is testing RS-25 rocket engines for the Space Launch System (SLS) that will carry humans back to the Moon.

SMART Solar Sail

The miniaturized, autonomous, reconfigurable solar sail is capable of very fine maneuvering by small surface deformation.

Machine Learning Enables Rapid Rocket Engine Design

This method provides a fast way to assess rocket engine performance in a variety of operating conditions.

Facility Focus: NASA Marshall Space Flight Center

Founded on July 1, 1960, Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, AL is one of NASA’s largest field centers. Marshall engineers designed, built, tested, and helped launch the Saturn V...

LED Lighting Improves Efficiency and Imaging

Rocket engine testing requires a lot of light since all tests are filmed with high-speed cameras to monitor performance; however, those cameras have to adjust to the bright plume from a firing...

Rocket Nozzle Side-Load Analysis Software

Lateral nozzle forces are known to cause severe structural damage during testing of any new rocket engine configuration under development. While three-dimensional computational fluid dynamics (CFD)...

Integrated Multiphysics and Advanced Diagnostics

The objective of this effort was to design, fabricate, integrate, and fly a nuclear thermal rocket without having to build massive ground test facilities. Furthermore, this nuclear rocket would...

Freeform Channel Close-Out for High-Performance Heat Exchangers

Large-scale liquid rocket engines with regeneratively cooled nozzles will enable reliable and reduced-cost access to space. The coolant that circulates through the internal...

Novel Design of an Orifice Control Element

An orifice element is commonly used in liquid rocket engine test facilities either as a flow metering device, a damper for acoustic resonance, or to provide a large reduction in pressure over a very...