Preparing a 3-D printed rocket injector for a hot fire test.
Propulsion systems engineer Greg Barnett prepares a rocket injector for a hot fire test at NASA’s Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Ala. The injector, made with a new process called 3-D printing or additive manufacturing, was Aug. 22, 2013. The 9.5-inch injector is about half the size of the injector for the RS-25 engine slated to power NASA’s Space Launch System. It was made with just two pieces whereas a similar injector made with traditional welding had 115 pieces.
Image credit: NASA/MSFC/Emmett Given