3D-Printed Rocket Part Passes Biggest NASA Test Yet

NASA's first attempt at using 3D-printed parts for rocket engines has passed its biggest, and hottest, test yet.

The largest 3D-printed rocket part built to date, a rocket engine injector, survived a major hot-fire test. The injector generated 10 times more thrust than any injector made by 3D printing before, the space agency announced. A NASA video of the 3D-printed rocket-part test shows the engine blazing to life at the agency's Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Ala.

"This successful test of a 3D-printed rocket injector brings NASA significantly closer to proving this innovative technology can be used to reduce the cost of flight hardware," Chris Singer, head of MSFC's Engineering Directorate, said in a statement. Read more...

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