Source : vanguardngr
The rocket engines and 3D printed fuel from Texas-based firm Firehawk have successfully tested.
According to The Dallas Morning News, Firehawk, a company founded two years ago, relocated to Dallas to develop its 3D-printed rocket engine & fuel concept. CEO Will Edwards and chief scientist Ron Jones, who provided the fuel’s structure and 3D printed it in a specifically designed matrix, The project was successful.
The organised, solid fuel grain burns very predictably and is more stable & portable than other fuels. The company developed engines based on this idea and tested them on lesser scales, but they have also been developing the kind of engine you’d use in space. The versatility of the system, however, is one of its advantages, according to the company.
According to Edwards, according to TechCrunch, “It’s a unique engine because of its throttling ability, low manufacturing cost, and parametric design, so we can build for a missile interception system or second stage booster.”
The procedure was repeatedly revised
According to TechCrunch, printing the fuel grains differently enables variable thrust characteristics in addition to increased safety. The entire procedure can also be stopped repeatedly, slowed down, and restarted repeatedly without any negative effects.
Although this is typically the case with liquid rocket engines, it isn’t the case with solid ones: They explode at full power until they run out of fuel, giving you only one chance to attack it and few options for force vectors are limited, more like a drag racer than a regular vehicle.
The industry finds it extremely attractive since “our engine can replace solid rocket motors with something substantially cheaper cost, on par with fuel performance, but you can manage its burn,” said Edwards.
“The need for solid motors in military & research is ongoing, and the enhanced customizability and other features make Firehawk an attractive-alternative for missions with a variety of needs.
Recent engine burn tests for Firehawk were conducted at Stennis Space Center under NASA’s direction. The engines are ready to fly, as per the test results.
There are several funders listed
More tests, R&D, and engine manufacturing will meet demand thanks to the new Series B investment round, but as is to be expected for a firm working with Raytheon, The nature of the demand cannot be discussed in any detail due to NDAs. They have so far raised $15.5 million, but they hope to hit $17 million soon.
Other contributors to the project’s funding include Raytheon, Star Castle VC, Draper & Associates, Goff Capital, Cathexis Ventures, Plains VC, Victorum Capital, Stellar VC, Capital Factory, Echo Investments, & Hemisphere Ventures.
Edwards emphasised that this is just the beginning, despite the fact that the engines being tested are practically ready for customer use.
“We can construct pretty bizarre fuel grain geometries, and we can improve its performance by modifying the architecture.” “All it takes is modifying some code & uploading it to our 3D printers,” he explained.
