Most of the new developments in aerospace technology come from commercial enterprises, such as SpaceX (Space Exploration Technologies Corporation) which is rapidly developing more effective rockets and satellite launchers. SpaceX has inspired European countries, which have already developed technologies that SpaceX has used to build their new rockets and SLVs (Space Launch Vehicles). One of these technologies was 3D printing of metal components for rocket engines and other main components of SLVs that are needed in small quantities. The use of traditional manufacturing methods such as forging, machining and stamping of metal is expensive and time consuming and expensive for small quantities. Change has been coming since the 1980s, when the concept of 3D printing technology arrived. It was soon realized that this technology would eventually evolve to the point where metal components and complex objects could be built with a 3D device. For manufacturers, this would be a major revolution for anyone who needs a small number of complex systems or develops prototypes for testing and further refinement. Spacecraft developers and manufacturers were among the first to use this new technology very visibly. In the first decade of the 21st century, more efficient 3D printers appear that can handle metal parts of different sizes and complexities.
SpaceX, an SLV design and manufacturing company, was founded in 2002 with the goal of breaking into a market dominated by long-standing suppliers. At the time, these older businesses formed a legal cartel that monopolized satellite launch services for the U.S. government. This meant that after 2006 all these SLV enterprises went to a government-approved monopoly called the ULA (United Launch Alliance), which consists of Lockheed Martin (with Atlas 5 rockets) and Boeing (Delta 4) . These two companies have dominated American space launches for more than half a century and in 2006 they officially monopolized them. But not for long, because the future has dawned unexpectedly.
One of the existing technologies that SpaceX applied to their innovative rocket and SLV designs was 3D printing of components, especially for the smaller liquid fuel rockets used in the final phase of an SLV to carry the payload in orbit to place. These rockets in the final phase required small bulldozers to maneuver satellites in a particular orbit or maneuver space vehicles when they were on board space stations, or any job that required that kind of precision in a gravity-free environment.
The new technology that SpaceX depends on does not just come from the United States. Breakthrough European 3D printing companies such as EOS in Germany, have developed ‘4D’ printing that not only creates individual components but also complex larger components, some of which are made of different materials. EOS subsidiary AMCM (Additive Manufacturing Customized Machines) has developed a large volume 3D printer for Orbex, a six year old Scottish firm that builds small (19 meter long) SLVs to deliver smallsats in polar LEO (Low Earth Orbit) by launching them from a spaceport in the far north (Scotland). Orbex wanted a 3D printer that could quickly manufacture complex components for liquid-fueled rocket engines. The 3D printer ordered by Orbex could print main components for three SLVs per month. When problems with design or component materials are encountered while using Orbex SLVs, components can be quickly redesigned, manufactured, and installed for testing and frequent use. Not only does this speed up development and production, but it also reduces costs. These have been the goals of 3D printing for decades (now also called Additive Manufacturing). All this is done by young businesses. Orbex was founded in the 1990s while AMCM was created in 2017.
By 2012, SpaceX had received its first contract to ship U.S. military cargo into space. SpaceX previously obtained a NASA contract that includes twelve deliveries to the International Space Station for $ 134 million each. What made it all so remarkable is that SpaceX is the first private transportation industry. SpaceX developed its own rockets without any government assistance. SpaceX also developed the Dragon spacecraft to deliver personnel and supplies to the International Space Station.
SpaceX has since proven that its innovative rockets work and proves that SpaceX rockets can do the job cheaper. In contrast, ULA receives a $ 1 billion annual subsidy from the government that SpaceX does not need. SpaceX still had to do all the paperwork and approvals so they could handle classified missions. For SpaceX, this was not a problem, as they were already willing to spend a year or so complying with all the bureaucrats and regulations.
It all started because the US was desperate for some innovation in aerospace technology and offered to do business with private aerospace companies if the new companies could show that their approach works. Several such enterprises were established after 2000 to provide new technology, and there are more and more successes. One was a new space engine (SuperDraco) for manned orbiting aircraft that could land or land the vessel with greater ease and accuracy, and also provide an escape option for staff on a loading dock who get into trouble before reaching the runway.
SuperDraco was a variant on the Draco engines that had already propelled the SpaceX spacecraft during propulsion after trips to the ISS or to another orbital mission. SuperDraco uses a storable liquid fuel that enables it to switch on and off more effectively during a space mission. SuperDraco development experienced an accident in April 2019. Such catastrophic defects had to be planned and dealt with effectively. SuperDraco quickly overcame problems like these because they had 3D printers that could quickly build new engine components from high-tech alloys. As a result, SpaceX was able to quickly fix bugs, build new SLVs or SLV components and retest. Problems that slow down ULA and other auto-tech enterprises can be overcome by the new manufacturers with 3D and 4D manufacturing within weeks or months. Since rocket engines were not manufactured in large quantities, the higher cost of using a 3D printer was not a factor. SuperDraco is considered to be the first of a new generation of spacecraft equipment created with 3D printers as well as silicone prototyping. The computer-based prototyping used high-resolution computer models to design and test new designs before building and testing a full-scale. The rapid design and manufacture made it possible to quickly develop and manufacture new components to replace the components that failed during the test.
Within a decade of its inception, SpaceX had succeeded in breaking the decades-old cartel that controlled the U.S. satellite launch services. At the time, Lockheed Martin received much more publicity because the Atlas 5’s Russian RD-180 engine was a more attractive option (in terms of performance and price) than its rival Delta 4. Unfortunately, due to the Russian 2014 misconduct in Ukraine and subsequent U.S. threats, the Russians canceled the RD-180 agreement. SpaceX acted, saying the Atlas 5 replacement will be ready in a few years. This led the Russians to reconsider their RD-180 threats. But even the resumption of RD-180 deliveries has not stopped SpaceX.
This SpaceX promise was not lazy. Dragon made its first cargo delivery to the ISS in 2012 and has since made more than 21 successful deliveries, including one transporting live animals (mice) for ISS experiments and multiple reuse of Dragon spacecraft. By 2020, all Dragons were the larger and more capable Dragon 2. Dragon was built to be reused and six of the 13 Dragons built made two or three launches and deliveries.
SpaceX quickly proved that its rockets worked and repeatedly showed that SpaceX rockets could do the job cheaper. A ULA rocket launch that cost $ 420 million, for example, could be done by SpaceX for $ 90 million. ULA quickly became much more efficient and cheaper. But not fast enough, because SpaceX has constantly developed and implemented cheaper and more efficient technologies.
By 2018, it was clear that the ULA monopoly was gone forever and that the ULA cartel had resigned for continued downsizing and efforts to duplicate SpaceX technologies in an effort to stay business. Even the Russians reluctantly acknowledged that the SpaceX-reusable rockets, which repeatedly returned to Earth and ended up intact under their own power, fundamentally changed the launcher’s business. The ULA, as well as European and Chinese space launch operations, had to adapt to prevent all their commercial (and some of their military) business from being lost. New businesses, such as Orbex in the UK, could move faster than the larger established SLV operations. The ESA (European Space Agency) waited until early 2020 before issuing small contracts to three European rocket manufacturers to compete with new technology with SpaceX. This is too slow because ESA’s automated SLVs, such as the ULA, are not competitive. The Chinese response does not differ much from the ESAs, and Russia realizes that it is fading (before SpaceX)’s space program is doomed to second place. Russia recently dropped to third place in the number of annual SLV launches. During the Cold War, Russia was usually first.