White Sands propulsion team tests 3D-printed Orion engine component

When the Orion spacecraft carries the primary Artemis crews to the moon and again, it can depend on the European Service Module contributed by ESA (European House Company) to make the journey. The service module offers electrical energy era, propulsion, temperature management, and consumable storage for Orion, up to date it separates from the crew module previous to re-entry into Earth’s ambiance.

For the primary six Artemis missions—Artemis I by way of Artemis VI—NASA and ESA will use a refurbished Orbital Maneuvering System (OMS) engine from the space shuttle program because the European Service Module’s fundamental engine. Past Artemis VI, NASA will want a brand new engine to help Orion.

That want might be met by the Orion Fundamental Engine (OME) in improvement with Aerojet Rocketdyne (now L3 Harris), however earlier than the OME can fly, all of its elements should be totally examined.

Enter the Propulsion Check Workplace at NASA’s White Sands Check Facility. From November 2023 to January 2024, this crew led rigorous testing of a crucial OME element: the injector that delivers propellants to energy the engine and offers the thrust essential to return Orion dwelling from the moon.

The checks had been carried out on Check Stand 301A in White Sands’ Propulsion 300 Space. The injector was mounted to a check engine that fired a number of instances for 3 seconds every, for a total of 21 checks. With every check, the White Sands crew sought to reveal the OME injector’s skill to take care of constant and managed combustion and to return to regular operations if the combustion course of was artificially perturbed.

Many White Sands crew members had been concerned on this effort. James Hess, mission supervisor and operations director, ensured the checks had been accomplished safely and efficiently by overseeing operations, and confirming check necessities had been met. James Mahoney dealt with the check schedule and funds as mission lead, whereas Jordan Aday directed operations and the precise checks.

Different key roles included lead electrical engineer Sal Muniz, and instrumentation engineer Jesus Lujan-Martino. Aerojet Rocketdyne’s Shaun DeSouza served as check article director, working to make sure the injector operated as anticipated and that check situation necessities had been met. Further help was supplied by OME Program crew members at NASA’s Johnson House Middle and Glenn Analysis Middle.

The outcomes confirmed that the OME injector might preserve steady combustion, and the crew decided the checks had been profitable. A singular facet of the OME injector is that it was fabricated by way of an additive manufacturing course of known as selective laser machining—principally 3D printing with metallic powders as an alternative of plastics. Demonstrating the effectiveness of 3D printed elements might assist NASA and its companions decrease prices and enhance efficiencies in improvement processes.

The injector design will now be integrated right into a full OME that might be examined as a full engine meeting at White Sands as soon as it’s prepared.