Rocket3d

Design a rocket that could be built in place inside one of the four bays of the Vehicle Assembly Building (VAB) at Kennedy Space Center, which is 525 ft (160 m) tall. Utilize additive manufacturing (aka 3D printing) where possible, considering which materials might be able to be used and which ones may have to be brought in already manufactured.

3D printing has many advantages compared to traditional manufacturing methods. These include the ability to make complex geometries, reduce material wastage by additive rather than subtractive manufacturing, and rapid prototyping. Our team has used these advantages to redesign and optimise four existing components of rockets.

These include:

• Solid propellants
  • Cross-sections with complex 3D geometries can be printed
  • Customise flight profile for efficiency in thrust
  • Both vertical and horizontal cross sections can be redesigned
• Engines (aerospike design)
  • Aerospike engines have not been widely used, due to their manufacturing difficulties and problems with cooling
  • However, they are more efficient than regular bell-shaped engines at variable altitudes
  • 3D printing addresses the manufacturing difficulty with its ability to print complex geometries
  • A sophisticated cooling system can be printed into the structure and utilised with cryogenic fuel to more effectively avoid overheating
  • Can also leave pockets in structure for insulation such as foam, and to reduce material usage
• Insulation
  • External insulation requires homogenous surfaces
  • Internal insulation is more viable for 3D printing
  • Carbon foams can be applied by spraying (with the full benefits that 3D printing implies)
  • Has poor properties in oxygen rich environments, which is a problem eliminated when using internally

• 3D printing can produce single parts with complex shapes, so we can combine parts that are usually manufactured separately (one monolithic part)
• This can greatly reduce vibration and other effects on the system
• Also makes testing and inspection much easier (fewer parts to examine)

Our solution should enable rocket manufacturing to become much more efficient, by saving lead times associated with transport, storage, inspection, and manufacturing. The concept also improves the technical aspects of rockets (such as thermodynamics), by utilising 3D printing technology to achieve a design that would be otherwise impossible to manufacture using conventional methods.