{"id":2567,"date":"2022-09-22T07:01:00","date_gmt":"2022-09-22T06:01:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/edrmedeso1.wpenginepowered.com\/article\/cea-aims-to-democratize-space-by-3d-printing-rocket-engines\/"},"modified":"2023-06-24T14:51:33","modified_gmt":"2023-06-24T13:51:33","slug":"cea-aims-to-democratize-space-by-3d-printing-rocket-engines","status":"publish","type":"case-study","link":"https:\/\/edrmedeso.com\/case-study\/cea-aims-to-democratize-space-by-3d-printing-rocket-engines\/","title":{"rendered":"CEA Aims to Democratize Space by 3D Printing Rocket Engines"},"content":{"rendered":"

Among the more surprising business trends of the last decade has been the dramatic privatization of space launches and exploration. According to a recent article in The Guardian, private businesses now account for approximately 80% of the $424-billion worldwide space industry.<\/h3>\n

While a handful of mega-wealthy individuals \u2014 including Richard Branson, Elon Musk, and Jeff Bezos \u2015 have received plenty of media attention for their efforts to establish space tourism, the potential of space for a range of business applications is enormous. From launching satellites to transporting goods, the worldwide space industry represents untapped opportunities for product and service commercialization. It may well be the \u201cfinal frontier\u201d for a new generation of ambitious entrepreneurs.<\/p>\n

One such entrepreneur, (and a self-confessed space evangelist) is Ewan Craig<\/strong>, who founded Connect Everything Aerospace (CEA) in the UK in 2020, based on a novel idea he developed during the early months of the COVID-19 lockdown. While many of us were taking long walks, assembling puzzles, or baking bread, Craig was imagining an unexpected way to make space more accessible, more affordable, and more democratic by 3D-printing rocket engines. Less than 18 months later, with support from the Ansys Startup Program, Craig is preparing for his first test launch. Recently I talked with Craig about his unique vision \u2014 and how he\u2019s managed to realize it so quickly.<\/p>\n

Ansys Advantage:<\/strong> When I hear the words \u201cadditive manufacturing,\u201d rocket engines don\u2019t seem like a natural fit. After all, we use \u201crocket science\u201d to express the most extreme example of product complexity. So how exactly did the concept for CEA originate?<\/p>\n

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Ewan Craig<\/strong>: I\u2019ve always thought aerospace engineering is just the coolest thing we do as human beings. The moon landing, sending rovers to other planets, having men and women living in orbit around our planet \u2015 it\u2019s so incredible. So during the initial COVID-19. lockdown, I did an online open course, an introduction to basic rocket science, created by the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT). I just loved it. I started doing some research, and I learned about an aerospike engine design that was conceived in the 1960s but never really got off the ground, pun intended. And there was a moment when I thought, \u201cHold on a second. Should I try and redesign this for today?\u201d<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

The engine has an unique design that allows it to deliver maximum thrust as it climbs through the atmosphere, self-adapting to the changes in ambient pressure to support optimum exhaust expansion. But that unique design makes it heavy, hard to manufacture, and expensive to produce using conventional materials and fabrication processes. Additive manufacturing, or 3D printing, is really the only way to produce it at scale. With 3D printing, complexity is not really an issue. As long as you optimize the design, it\u2019s just a matter of pressing a button. By combining the really modern technology of 3D printing with this rather old invention of the aerospike rocket engine, you can actually make something that\u2019s viable today, both financially and practically. And that was the genesis of CEA.<\/p>\n