Prof. Zachary Cordero hosts 3rd annual Materials Challenges in Reusable Rocket Engines workshop
In June, leaders from industry, academia, and government gathered at The Aerospace Corporation for the third Workshop on Materials Challenges in Reusable Rocket Engines, led by Prof. Zack Cordero, Natasha Vermaak (Lehigh University), Fabio Bendana (Aerospace Corporation), and Tim Wabel (Aerospace Corporation). The three-day event focused on improving the materials and technologies that make reusable rockets possible.
This year’s workshop had two principal objectives: providing a technical forum for the exchange of ideas and information on materials challenges and solutions for reusable rocket systems, and planning relevant and timely goals for cross-cutting research topics focused on enabling the national priority of reusable launch capabilities.
“This workshop has grown over three iterations to become the premier meeting on materials challenges and solutions in new heavy-lift reusable launch vehicles,” says Cordero. “MIT has the convening power to bring together top researchers from academia, government, and industry to openly share technical insights and define a collaborative research agenda that moves the field forward.”
Day 1 explored insights and technologies from work on turbine materials for oxygen-rich turbopumps – predictive models of ignition mechanisms, novel oxygen-compatible materials technologies, and design guidelines for more reliable, reusable turbine hardware.
Day 2 was spent defining new research programs on reusable turbopumps and next-generation thrust chamber assemblies, including a featured talk by Prof. Zoltan Spakovszky, director of the MIT Gas Turbine Lab
Day 3 introduced a new topic, hypersonic re-entry, and began identifying challenges that will need to be solved as reusable systems face harsher return environments.
The event continues to bring technical experts and aerospace industry decision-makers together to drive progress in the field while supporting national goals for reusable space launch systems.
Read about past workshops
