REBROADCAST ...if you can 3D print a rocket engine? (with Nate Perkins) Artwork

Ever Wonder? from the California Science Center

At the California Science Center, we love to wonder and be curious about the world around us. In each new episode, join host Perry Roth-Johnson as he chats with scientists, engineers, museum professionals, and others to find answers to questions you might have wondered. New episodes every other Wednesday.

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Ever Wonder? from the California Science Center

REBROADCAST ...if you can 3D print a rocket engine? (with Nate Perkins)

October 11, 2023 • California Science Center • Season 4 • Episode 18

NASA is planning to launch a massive new rocket as part of the Artemis I mission to fly around the moon. Earlier this year, we talked to engineers Nate Perkins and Doug Bradley from Aerojet-Rocketdyne about the engines for that rocket. Although the rocket is new, NASA is reusing the same RS-25 engines that once powered the Space Shuttle. (In fact, two of the engines on Artemis I actually flew on Endeavour!) But since the rocket for Artemis won’t be reusable like the Shuttle, its engines will have to be replaced for future missions. The engineers at Aerojet-Rocketdyne have gotten pretty creative coming up with efficient, cost-effective ways to build new engines…

Ever wonder if you can 3D print a rocket engine?

In this short, Nate tells us how he is using 3D printing to build the RS-25 engines more cheaply and quickly than during the past Shuttle Program. Here’s more of our conversation with Nate.

Have a question you've been wondering about? Send an email or voice recording to everwonder@californiasciencecenter.org to tell us what you'd like to hear in future episodes.

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