Spain: 3D printing and AI to allow rockets evolve like nature

FADA-CATEC (Fundación Andaluza para el Desarrollo Aeroespacial - Centro Avanzado de TECnologías) is supporting Zero 2 Infinity (Z2I) in the development of a new generation of rocket engines.

Recently, FADA-CATEC has successfully 3D printed a combustion chamber for Zero 2 Infinity's Bloostar engine. Jose Mariano López-Urdiales, founder and CEO of Zero 2 Infinity, praised the benefits of 3D printing: "Traditional rockets have had straight cooling channels because that's all that could be manufactured. When you put a flashlight in your ear, you see a wonderful tree-like structure of blood vessels. We don't have straight rows of blood vessels in our ears. 3D printing and AI now allow rockets to evolve, like nature."

Zero 2 Infinity is an spanish privately-owned company with subsidiaries in Germany and the United States. The plans of the company include using AI (Artificial Intelligence) and neural networks to optimize the cooling of the thrust chamber via structures that cannot be manufactured by any other means.