Nasa hopes entire rockets could be built on other planets or while in orbit

Rockets could soon be 3D=printed in space after Nasa engineers successfully test-fired a rocket engine made using the innovative technique.

The rocket, which was manufactured using 3D printed engine parts, produced a huge jet of flame and around 20,000lbs (9,100kg) of thrust in the test.

The force generated by the rocket, which used a combination of cryogenic liquid hydrogen and oxygen, was so powerful that it shook nearby cameras recording the test.

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Nasa has tested a new rocket built using 3D-printed components. A huge jet of flame was produced from the rocket engine and the force it generated was so powerful it shook the cameras recording the test (pictured)

Nasa hopes 3D printing may provide a quicker and more affordable way of producing space vehicles for space missions.

Rather than having to ship bulky components into orbit for future missions to the moon and Mars, it may instead be possible to create them from raw materials while in space.

ONE SMALL PRINT FOR MAN... Nasa has already begun using 3D printers in space by creating small objects for use in the International Space Station. The device was created by California-based company Made in Space, who were contracted by Nasa to design it for the ISS. Called the 3D Printing in Zero-G Technology Demonstration, it aims to show the 'additive manufacturing' technique can make 3D printed parts and tools in space. The printer was installed on the station by astronaut Butch Wilmore, in the station's Microgravity Science Glovebox, which is used for conducting science and technology experiments. The printer works by heating a relatively low-temperature plastic filament to build parts layer by later in designs supplied to the machine. The first object it created was a plastic faceplate with the words 'Made In Space' written on it. Advertisement

Such technology could also prove crucial to helping astronauts living on a base on Mars survive and adapt on the surface of the planet.

Elizabeth Robertson, project manager for the additively manufactured demonstrator engine at Nasa's Marshall Space Flight Centre in Huntsville, Alabama, said the tests had brought them a step closer to building a high-performance rocket engine using 3D printing.

She said: 'We manufactured and then tested about 75 per cent of the parts needed to build a 3D-printed rocket engine.

'By testing the turbopumps, injectors and valves together, we've shown that it would be possible to build a 3-D printed engine for multiple purposes such as landers, in-space propulsion or rocket engine upper stages.'

The team, which has been developing 3D printed rocket parts for around three years, now hopes to develop a rocket that can use liquid oxygen and methane.

These are considered to be key propellants for any Martian landers as it may be possible to produce these while on the surface of the red planet.

It could allow astronauts to 3D print the rockets they would use to return from Mars after a mission there.

Engineers at Nasa's Marshall Space Flight Centre in Huntsville, Alabama, built the rocket (pictured) using components printed using metal powder and a laser. It allows them to create them from fewer parts and in just a fraction of the time than using traditional methods

Nick Case, the testing lead for the effort said: 'What matters is that the parts work the same way as they do in a conventional engine and perform under the extreme temperatures and pressures found inside a rocket engine.

'The turbopump got its 'heartbeat' racing at more than 90,000 revolutions per minute (rpm) and the end result is the flame you see coming out of the thrust chamber to produce over 20,000 pounds of thrust, and an engine like this could produce enough power for an upper stage of a rocket or a Mars lander.'

The team conducted seven tests on their 3D printed rocket, lasting up to 10 seconds each in an attempt to replicate the environments it would experience during a real launch.

Fuel cooled to as low as -400°F (-240°C) was pumped into the engine, where it was ignited, reaching temperatures of more than 6,000°F (3,315°C).

The rocket was shown to be able to withstand the extreme temperatures it would experience during a launch, with fuel cooled to as low as -400°F (-240°C) pumped into the engine and temperatures of more than 6,000°F (3,315°C) when it has been ignited

To make each part, a design for the components was entered into a 3D printer's computer before they were built by layering metal powder, and fusing it together with a laser.

This process, known as selective laser melting, allows more complex shapes to be made as a single piece.

For example, one of the more complex parts of the engine, the turbopump, had 45 per cent fewer parts than traditional components.

The injector had more 200 fewer parts than traditionally manufactured injectors, and it incorporated features that have never been used before as they are only possible with additive manufacturing.

Complex parts like valves that normally would take more than a year to manufacture were built within a few months.

This made it possible to get the parts built and assembled on the test stand much sooner than if they had been procured and made with traditional methods.

In addition to testing with methane, the team plans to add other key components to the demonstrator engine including a cooled combustion chamber and nozzle and a turbopump for liquid oxygen.

'This new manufacturing process really opened the design space and allowed for part geometries that would be impossible with traditional machining or casting methods,' said David Eddleman, one Marshall's propulsion designers.