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Boosting rocket reliability at the material level


MIT Professor Zack Cordero's research focuses on reducing maintenance costs and extending the lifespan of reusable rockets, while simultaneously reducing the risk of catastrophic failure.

Working with partners including NASA, which plans to use Starship for its crewed Artemis missions to the moon, Cordero is leveraging expertise in additive manufacturing (AM), processing science, materials engineering, and structural design. “With reusable liquid propellant rocket engines, you must ensure safe operation over multiple flight cycles and ease off on performance to reduce stress.” Toward this end, Cordero recently worked with the MIT Department of Aeronautics and Astronautics and the Industrial Liaison Program to launch a new one-week crash course in AM for aerospace engineers.

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