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NASA invents 3D printed rocket engine turbo pump
NASA engineers have tested a 3D printed rocket engine turbo pump with liquid methane -- an ideal propellant for engines needed to power many types of spacecraft for NASA\'s journey to Mars and other deep-space missions.
​Washington: NASA engineers have tested a 3D printed rocket engine turbo pump with liquid methane -- an ideal propellant for engines needed to power many types of spacecraft for NASA's journey to Mars and other deep-space missions.
A turbo pump is complex because it has turbines that spin fast to drive the pump which supplies fuel to the engine. During the full power test, the turbines generated 600 horsepower and the fuel pump, got its “heartbeat” racing at more than 36,000 revolutions per minute.
This delivered 600 gallons of semi-cryogenic liquid methane per minute -- enough to fuel an engine producing over 22,500 pounds of thrust. Three other tests were completed at lower power levels.
Liquid methane is cooled to -159 degrees Celsius whereas liquid hydrogen is cooled to -240 degrees Celsius. The higher temperature of liquid methane means it boils off more slowly and thus is easier to store for longer periods - a benefit for Mars missions.
Also, technologies exist today to make it possible to manufacture methane rocket fuel from carbon dioxide, which is plentiful in the Red Planet's atmosphere.
The next step is to test the liquid methane turbo pump with other 3D printed engine components in a similar configuration to the liquid hydrogen tests completed last year.
