3D printing slashes manufacturing time for European rocket engine

New technologies including 3D printing have slashed costs and manufacturing times for a European rocket engine, said its developers, after they successfully completed first tests.

ArianeGroup developed the Vulcain 2.1 engine to power the main stage of the Ariane 6 launcher, which is scheduled to fly for the first time in 2020. The European Space Agency rocket will launch satellites into orbit, including for the OneWeb broadband-providing constellation.  

The Vulcain 2.1, adapted from the earlier Ariane 5, includes a gas generator built using 3D printing. The technique cut the manufacturing cycle by half, said Philippe Girard, head of liquid propulsion at ArianeGroup, to Professional Engineering.

The contractor also integrated new technology to help “significantly” reduce production costs, including a simplified divergent nozzle and an oxygen heater for tank pressurisation.

The German Aerospace Centre tested the Vulcain 2.1 at its Lampoldshausen facility for 650 seconds, the same duration as the planned launch.

The demonstration was a “key success,” said Girard. “This first successful test of Vulcain 2.1 demonstrates that the programme is on track. Three years after the beginning of the programme, it is a first significant validation.”

The demonstration followed 138 tests of ArianeGroup’s Vinci upper-stage engine at two testbeds in France and Germany. The trials included several multiple ignition tests, something required by customers flying Ariane 6 missions.