Sciaky
Sciaky 3D printed upper nozzle section
Intuitive Machines' Odysseus has successfully landed on the moon featuring a metal 3D printed part from Sciaky.
The critical component was installed on the Nova-C lunar lander as part of the U.S. space exploration company’s IM-1 mission, part of NASA's Commercial Lunar Payload Services (CLPS) initiative, which is studying the lunar environment in preparation for future crewed-missions.
The part forms the upper section of the engine nozzle, which provides the main source of thrust for descent. It was additively manufactured in a refractory alloy on one of Sciaky's Electron Beam Additive Manufacturing (EBAM) systems in sixteen hours. Sciaky also produced two additional upper nozzle sections for rigorous testing under hot fire testing conditions.
Despite some communication challenges upon landing, the IM-1 Mission successfully landed the spacecraft on the moon's south pole region, marking the United States' first return to the lunar surface since Apollo 17 in 1972, and the first private moon landing. It is also said to be the first commercial lunar lander to transmit valuable scientific data of each NASA payload from the lunar surface. Sciaky is said to be ‘actively researching ways to improve upon its contributions to the aerospace sector.’
The space industry continues to be a strong adopter of additive manufacturing as the technology’s lightweighting capabilities and design flexibility are leveraged for everything from satellites to monolithic engine parts. Earlier this month, the European Space Agency (ESA) declared an additive manufacturing first for in-orbit manufacturing as the first metal part was successfully printed on board the International Space Station. The S-curve test line was printed aboard ESA’s Columbus laboratory module using a metal 3D printer technology demonstrator developed by a team led by project co-funder Airbus under contract to ESA’s Directorate of Human and Robotic Exploration. Meanwhile 3D printing companies like Incus and research institutes like Washing State University are supporting projects that seek to use lunar materials like scrap from old missions or composites made with lunar rock to print in the lunar environment.
