A new rocket test and teaching facility in Scotland has hosted an initial test-fire of 3D-printed rocket engines designed by a University of Glasgow PhD research team.
The MachLab facility has been set up in a Cold War-era armoured building on the site of the former RAF Machrahanish airbase near Campbeltown.
It has been established by researchers from the University of Glasgow and backed by close to £500,000 in funding from industry, including matched contribution from the UK Space Agency. Now up and running, it will support the research and development of new rocket engines capable of delivering up to one tonne of thrust. Researchers from academia and industry will be able to use the facility's custom-built test stand to fire experimental rocket designs and gather data on their performance. MachLab’s specialist data-collection equipment provides researchers with detailed readings of temperature, propellant consumption, chamber pressure, and other key metrics to help them understand and refine their designs.
The first rocket engines to be tested at the site is one designed by Jack Tufft and Jack Davies, two PhD students at the University of Glasgow, and with the support of the UK Space Agency. This engine has been designed with an advanced cooling system using ToffeeX's physics-driven generative design software platform. Additively manufactured with a 3D printer from Aconity3D GmbH, the TORC-1, -2 and -3 engines use a high-strength aerospace alloy made from copper, chromium and zirconium and were built to explore use of topology optimisation in regenerative cooling channel design.
3D printing has been identified as a suitable method to make engines lighter and more efficient, with MachLab researchers working to develop rocket engines using solid, liquid and cryogenic propellants designed to carry payloads into space.
Professor Patrick Harkness, of the University of Glasgow’s James Watt School of Engineering, said: “MachLab is ready to play a key role in the UK’s strategy to return to vertical launch, ensuring that students and researchers can access hotfire facilities in a safe and controlled environment. MachLab will allow us to co-operate with other countries establishing or re-establishing their access to space. We have already had visitors from South Africa, and we expect to welcome partners from Australia in the near future. The UK is returning to vertical launch, and will be going to the stars. We are building that future here, today.”
Andy Grey, CEO of Exotopic, who helped to design and build the MechLab facility, added: “This has been a fantastic opportunity to partner with some of the UK’s leading researchers at the University of Glasgow to develop a world-class facility that provides a key capability within our unique aerospace R&D offering at Machrihanish airbase. We are looking forward to welcoming national and international researchers from academia and industry to our site, growing this R&D service, and creating more jobs and opportunities in the area.”
MachLab will also help establish the UK’s next generation of rocket engineers through specialist training, including a University of Glasgow-led programme called Rocketry Research Teaching Training, or R2T2. The programme, also funded by the UK Space Agency, will bring rocketry students from all over the UK to MachLab to develop their skills and test new rocket designs.
Matt Archer, Director of Launch at the UK Space Agency, said: “Facilities like MachLab strengthen our launch ecosystem, helping build the skills, infrastructure and innovation needed for a resilient UK launch capability. By supporting rocket engine testing and inspiring future engineers, it lays the groundwork for the UK to lead in launch. The UK Space Agency is proud to have supported MachLab’s development as part of our broader commitment to growing the UK’s launch sector.”
Earlier this year, the University of Glasgow launched a facility for testing of materials to be 3D printed in space, having received 253,000 GBP in funding from the UK Space Agency (UKSA).
