Moog has a strong heritage of providing thrusters and associated components to global satellite customers. To prepare for the ever-evolving space market, Moog has invested in a state-of-the-art metal Additive Manufacturing (AM) facility and a new engine testing facility.

Currently, Moog engineers are developing technologies to support the next generation of monopropellant and bi-propellant small thrusters, utilizing AM and other advanced manufacturing methods. AM offers unique geometries that increase propellant flow efficiencies and provide unparalleled thermal management. Within one-half inch, a thruster could have a surface that will be greater than 2500˚ F and another feature that needs to be maintained to less than 100˚ F. The additive configuration allows for these temperatures to be accommodated where traditional manufacturing methods would not meet the expected package requirements.

When compared to a conventional design method, additive offers the advantages of weight reduction, overall part-count reduction, reduced special processes such as welding and brazing, faster design iteration with shorter lead-times, and improved performance with a potential for lower cost products. Moog has recently manufactured, and hot-fire tested AM rocket engine injectors made of titanium and INCONEL®. Traditional or subtractive machined parts have a lead-time of 12-15 months. Moog’s AM rapid product development reduced the lead-time to 4-6 months, with a replacement part lead-time of 4 days. Complex geometry due to injector complexity, envelope, and mass constraints made AM development the answer for a hardware design that had to meet strict customer performance specifications.