Launcher’s E-2 rocket engine is officially awesome

Launcher is an NYC-based 3D printed rocket manufacturer – and that’s already quite enough to make it an awesome company. However, that’s not nearly all: the firm, which just closed a $1.5 funding round to continue operations, also just produced the largest single 3D printed part, with support from the specialists at EOS Group’s AMCM: an 86 cm tall copper alloy 3D printed rocket engine combustion chamber for its E-2 rocket engine.

The young company has thus scheduled the first full-scale test of its E-2 rocket engine for mid-2020 after securing a $1.5 million award from the U.S. Air Force and taking delivery of the world’s largest 3D printed combustion chamber (note: this photo was captured prior to the award 2X upgrade to $1.5M).

3D printed by AMCM (An EOS Group Company) using a copper alloy on AMCM’s M4K machine, it is the world’s largest liquid rocket engine combustion chamber 3D printed in a single part. The combustion chamber is 34 inches (86 cm) tall with an exit nozzle diameter of 16 inches (41 cm). AMCM supported the project through its customized AM solutions. Its engineers modify and enhance current EOS systems to meet customer-specific requirements: from new laser solutions to heating concepts and beyond.

The combustion chamber and injector are critical parts of Launcher’s E-2 engine, the highest performance engine for small satellite launch vehicles, currently in development. The first full-scale test fire is scheduled for Q2 2020.

Launcher has already achieved its target combustion performance of 98%+ C* using sub-scale versions of the E-2 engine 3D printed with the same machine and materials. The company was recently awarded funding to accelerate the Launcher E-2 development and testing program. For all you non-believers, The 3D printed combustions chamber will be on display at the upcoming Formnext conference and exhibit.