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Agile Space Propulsion Pursues 3D Printing for Rocket Thrusters https://ift.tt/2Aba82a Colorado-based company Agile Space Propulsion was born from the expertise of Daudi Barnes, who has been working in the spacecraft propulsion industry since 1998. Agile Space Propulsion has a specific goal: to design and manufacture rocket engines using 3D printing technology. In particular, Barnes wants to develop thrusters, the small maneuvering engines used in rockets. According to Barnes, as rockets get cheaper, there is an increasing need for thrusters, and the miniaturization of electronics is spurring demand for more space vehicles for a variety of purposes.
Rocket launches have been downsizing and becoming lighter and cheaper, partially thanks to 3D printing, which enables complex parts to be made in fewer components, or even in a single component. It also allows for a great deal of lightweighting.
Agile Space Propulsion has already developed a 100-pound thruster and is currently working on a five-pound one. Barnes points to the use of 3D printing in much of aerospace, for both small and large engines.
3D printing, on the other hand, can create curved channels, and can cut down on the number of steps involved in making something like a thruster.
Barnes has already developed a prototype thruster for a lunar lander for NASA. The thruster had languished in production for years without making much progress, due to the limitations of conventional manufacturing techniques. Using 3D printing, Barnes was able to come up with a prototype in merely nine weeks, and it performed better than the engine that had been in production for so long. Barnes is also the owner of Advanced Mobile Propulsion Test, which gives him access to that company’s rocket engine testing facility. This allows him to quickly iterate and test his designs.
Barnes created Agile Space Propulsion because of a failure to land NASA grants to develop new technology, as Advanced Mobile Propulsion Test was viewed as a testing facility and not a design company. Currently self-financing the new company, Barnes is looking for $500,000 from investors. He also wants to hire a CEO to replace him so that he can focus on engineering and developing rockets. The company now has five full-time employees and three part-time employees, and works with several contractors. Once he has completed business development, Barnes will seek an additional $5 million to enhance the company’s ability to produce thrusters.
Discuss this and other 3D printing topics at 3DPrintBoard.com or share your thoughts below. [Source/Images: Durango Herald] Printing via 3DPrint.com | The Voice of 3D Printing / Additive Manufacturing https://3dprint.com October 15, 2018 at 11:12AM
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