L3Harris Technologies has successfully delivered the first RL10 engine featuring a groundbreaking 3D-printed copper thrust chamber to United Launch Alliance (ULA). The new engine, designated RL10E-1, is set to launch on ULA’s Vulcan rocket next year.
The latest iteration, called the RL10E-1, uses 3D printing to enable a 98% reduction in the number of parts that make up the thrust chamber. The engine is set to fly on a ULA Vulcan rocket next year.
“The RL10 has been the nation’s premier high-performance, upper-stage rocket engine for more than 60 years, propelling hundreds of military, civil and commercial satellites into Earth’s orbit and sending spacecraft to explore every planet in our solar system,” said Kristin Houston, President, Space Propulsion and Power Systems, Aerojet Rocketdyne, L3Harris. “Incorporating 3D printing enables us to build an engine that maintains the performance and reliability our customers have come to expect, while significantly reducing cost and lead time to meet the demands of today’s marketplace.”
The RL10 is a highly efficient, upper-stage engine capable of making multiple restarts in space to place spacecraft into precise orbits or propel them to interplanetary destinations. This delivery marks the first of 116 RL10E-1 engines L3Harris will deliver to ULA under its latest contract. Two RL10 engines with a combined thrust of approximately 48,000 pounds will power each Vulcan rocket upper stage.
