Auburn University’s Samuel Ginn College of Engineering in Alabama has been awarded a $5.2 million NASA contract to develop additive manufacturing processes and techniques for improving the performance of liquid rocket engines.

The three-year contract is the latest expansion of a long-standing public-private partnership between Auburn and NASA’s Marshall Space Flight Center.

College dean Christopher B Roberts said (www.eng.auburn.edu) : “For decades, Auburn University engineers have been instrumental in helping the USA achieve its space exploration goals.

"This new collaboration between NASA and our additive-manufacturing researchers will play a major role in developing advanced rocket engines that will drive long-duration spaceflight, helping our nation achieve its bold vision for the future of space exploration.”

The R&D covered under the new contract is part of NASA’s Rapid Analysis and Manufacturing Propulsion Technology (RAMPT) project, which focuses on evolving lightweight large-scale novel and additive-manufacturing techniques for the development and manufacture of regeneratively cooled thrust-chamber assemblies for liquid rocket engines.

Paul McConnaughey, deputy director of Marshall Space Flight Center, said: “This partnership with Auburn University and industry will help to develop improvements for liquid rocket engines, as well as contribute to commercial opportunities. The technologies developed by this team will be made available widely to the private sector, offering more companies the opportunity to use these advanced manufacturing techniques.”