Rocket engine nozzles operate in extreme temperatures and pressures from the combustion process and are complex and expensive to manufacture. That is why a team of engineers at NASA's Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Alabama, developed and proved out a new additive manufacturing technique for nozzle fabrication that can greatly reduce costs and development time.

Through hot-fire testing at NASA's Marshall Space Flight Center, engineers put this nozzle through its paces, accumulating more than 1,040 seconds at high combustion chamber pressures and temperatures. Now, this technology is being licensed and considered in commercial applications across the industry.

Image credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech/Space Science Institute

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Make:	NIKON CORPORATION
Model:	NIKON D500
Exposure:	0.002 sec (1/500)
Aperture:	f/11.0
ISO Speed:	640
Focal Length:	300 mm
Lens:	18.0-300.0 mm f/3.5-5.6