Students break record with metallic 3D-printed rocket engine

University of Sheffield, UK, students have successfully tested a metallic, 3D-printed, liquid, rocket engine.

The engine is reported to be the first to be 3D printed by students in the UK and the most powerful student-built liquid rocket engine.

The Sheffield students successfully hot fired the engine as part of a week-long competition called Race to Space.

They now hope to use the engine to launch their own rocket to the edge of space and become the first UK student-led team to launch beyond the Kármán line - 62 miles above sea level.

The team built the engine over the last two years outside of their studies develop their careers in the space industry post-graduation.

The engine uses both fuel and an oxidiser rather than absorbing oxygen in the form of a traditional jet engine. Energy and weight efficiency is increased through cooling of the combustion chamber using fuel – regen-cooled.

As of now, there are no UK student-built liquid rocket engines made by 3D printing as powerful as the engine at Sheffield or those that involve the same regen-cooling properties. 

Henry Saunders, who led the team last year, claims that he 'came up with the idea in a coffee shop with two friends over two years ago'. He says, 'the equations only get you so far, the real learning, for me, came from trying things, failing and then eventually succeeding'.