Space Machines Company finalises Australian-first 3D printed rocket engine

Off-earth logistics business Space Machines Company (SMC) has successfully completed its proprietary Scintilla propulsion engine, which has completed an extended burn duration of 65 seconds, more than 1,200 seconds of total testing time and 40 restarts so far.

The engine was developed completely in-house and is part of SMC’s Viper satellite vehicle, “designed for rapid orbital manoeuvring and space domain awareness missions”.

According to a statement from the company on Thursday, the additively manufactured Scintilla delivers “50 Newtons of thrust while maintaining 92 [per cent] efficiency… with a clear pathway to near-100 [per cent] efficiency in future iterations.”

“We’ve achieved faster progress than even our most optimistic schedules predicted,” said Rajat Kulshrestha, Co-Founder and CEO of SMC, in a statement. 

“The engine has reached steady-state conditions and demonstrated the ability to run for extended periods – a critical requirement for our satellite operations. We can now run this engine for minutes, limited only by total propellant supply from our tanks.”

The company mentioned an advantage from investing in vertical integration, with “traditional satellite manufacturers” instead outsourcing the build of their propulsion systems.

“The better the propulsion system and the more delta-v available, the greater range of orbits we can access and the faster we can get there,” added Ian Partis, Vice President, Engineering and Mission Operations at SMC. 

“This is so fundamental to our mission that the satellite is essentially a propulsion system with a payload on top.”

SMC said it is proceeding to “full subsystem integration” after the completed Scintilla engine, “incorporating flight-grade valves and propellant management systems.” 

The company has a 2026 launch target for its orbital servicing vehicle, aboard a Small Satellite Launch Vehicle (SSLV) from NSIL, the commercial arm of the Indian Space Research Organisation. 

SMC plans to eventually offer “roadside assistance” to operators of space-located assets. 

Picture: supplied

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