L3Harris first new generation of RL10 rocket engines to ULA
First of 116 RL10E-1 engines features a 3D printed copper thrust chamber for 98% reduction in the number of parts
L3Harris Technologies (NYSE: LHX) delivered the first RL10 engine with a 3D printed copper thrust chamber to United Launch Alliance (ULA). The latest iteration, the RL10E-1, uses 3D printing to enable a 98% reduction in the number of parts that make up the thrust chamber. The engine is set to fly on a ULA Vulcan rocket next year.
“The RL10 has been the nation’s premier high-performance, upper-stage rocket engine for more than 60 years, propelling hundreds of military, civil and commercial satellites into Earth’s orbit and sending spacecraft to explore every planet in our solar system,” said Kristin Houston, President, Space Propulsion and Power Systems, Aerojet Rocketdyne, L3Harris. “Incorporating 3D printing enables us to build an engine that maintains the performance and reliability our customers have come to expect while significantly reducing cost and lead time to meet the demands of today’s marketplace.”
The RL10 is a highly efficient, upper-stage engine capable of making multiple restarts in space to place spacecraft into precise orbits or propel them to interplanetary destinations. This delivery marks the first of 116 RL10E-1 engines L3Harris will deliver to ULA under its latest contract. Two RL10 engines with a combined thrust of approximately 48,000 pounds will power each Vulcan rocket’s upper stage.
For six decades, L3Harris’ RL10 engine has been vital in placing hundreds of military, government and commercial spacecraft into Earth’s orbit and beyond. The engine has helped send spacecraft to explore every planet in our solar system, including Voyager 1 and Voyager 2, the first two spacecraft to reach interstellar space.
Today, multiple RL10 variants carry the engine’s legacy forward as the launch industry’s “workhorse,” powering the upper stages of United Launch Alliance’s (ULA) Atlas V and Delta IV Heavy rockets. Two RL10 engines power the upper stage of ULA’s new Vulcan Centaur rocket.
RL10 engines also help power NASA’s Space Launch System (SLS) rocket, designed to carry astronauts to deep-space destinations aboard the Orion exploration spacecraft. A single RL10 powered the Interim Cryogenic Propulsion Stage on Artemis I, an uncrewed SLS and Orion test flight. Four RL10 engines will support the more powerful Exploration Upper Stage being developed for future versions of SLS.
L3Harris has developed and is working to qualify a modern version of the engine known as the RL10C-X that includes major components built using 3D printing technology. Incorporating 3D printing into the manufacturing process will reduce lead times and cost while maintaining the outstanding performance and reliability customers have come to expect.
