Australian-first bimetal rocket thruster printed at CSIRO for Space Machines Company vehicle

A project supported by the iLAuNCH Trailblazer program has yielded a bimetal rocket thruster printed using multi-material additive manufacturing, which is claimed to be an Australian first.

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According to a statement from iLAuNCH – part of the federal Trailblazer Universities Program – on Thursday, the thruster was developed by Space Machines Company (SMC) and made on a Nikon SLM Solutions SLM280 2MA machine at CSIRO’s Lab22.

The release explains that the laser powder bed fusion (LPBF) machine combined two high-performance metals in the one print: high strength steel for structural strength as the outer jacket, as well as copper alloy for high thermal conductivity, allowing it to be both lightweight and robust.

Rocket thrust chambers are traditionally made by machining cooling channels into a copper liner, which is then brazed to a steel jacket in a method that is time-consuming and has multiple failure points. 

“This achievement showcases the potential of multi-material additive manufacturing for complex, high-performance parts,” said CSIRO Senior Research Scientist Dr Cherry Chen. 

“By placing each material exactly where it’s needed, we can improve functionality, reduce waste and open up new design possibilities for a wide range of industries.”

The thruster is for the Scintilla propulsion system on SMC’s Optimus Viper orbital servicing vehicle.

“By modifying our Scintilla thruster design to incorporate dual materials, we’ve gained the ability to rapidly experiment and optimise different material combinations—critical for achieving the propulsion performance [of] our mass-produced spacecraft,” said Rajat Kulshrestha, CEO Space Machines Company.

SMC announced last month that it had completed the Scintilla engine, passing all design and testing milestones, including critical design review.

Kulshrestha and fellow SMC co-founder George Freney are guests on the @AuManufacturing Conversations podcast this week, available at this link or to stream via the video below.

Picture: credit iLAuNCH

Further reading

A Sydney company’s plan to build thousands of fast, cheap and out of this world first responder vehicles

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

Space Machines Company opens Australia’s largest spacecraft manufacturing facility

Space Machines Company, NewSpace India sign launch agreement at Indian Space Congress