--- title: See NASA Test These 3D-Printed Rocket Parts description: If you thought the coolest application of a 3-D printer was creating a miniature model of yourself, then NASA has just proven you wrong. canonical: https://time.com/3222331/nasa-3d-printed-rocket/ author: Adam Glanzman article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2014-08-29T18:01:32.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-10-01T08:58:13.232Z article:section: Science og:title: See NASA Test These 3D-Printed Rocket Parts og:description: If you thought the coolest application of a 3-D printer was creating a miniature model of yourself, then NASA has just proven you wrong. og:url: https://time.com/3222331/nasa-3d-printed-rocket/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blte2db87cd1db285ce/6986a17a06f2c18056330812/nasa-3d-printing.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 4288 og:image:height: 2412 og:image:alt: nasa-3d-printing og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: See NASA Test These 3D-Printed Rocket Parts twitter:description: If you thought the coolest application of a 3-D printer was creating a miniature model of yourself, then NASA has just proven you wrong. twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blte2db87cd1db285ce/6986a17a06f2c18056330812/nasa-3d-printing.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # Watch NASA Test These 3D-Printed Rocket Parts > Sponsored content. 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Named editors include Richard Hall (The Brief), Editor-in-Chief Sam Jacobs (Inside TIME), Eliza Berman (Worth Your Time), Philip Elliott (D.C. Brief), Justin Worland (Future Proof) and Harry Booth (In the Loop). Health Matters is written by TIME's health desk. #### How do I sign up for a TIME newsletter? Go to time.com/newsletters, choose the newsletters you want and enter your email address. There is no cost and no subscription requirement. ### Sources * TIME Newsletters: [time.com/newsletters](/c/time-nl-network-2026q3/newsletters?i=c9966db7-b740-48ed-a0d5-074666142607&cr=time-nl-network-2026q3-v1) ## Video: 3-D Printed Rocket Injector Roars to Life [Watch (HLS stream): 3-D Printed Rocket Injector Roars to Life](https://cdn.jwplayer.com/manifests/HQYs0ioB.m3u8) (0:14)  _Published 2014-08-29. 3-D Printed Rocket Injector Roars to Life_ by [Adam Glanzman](https://time.com/author/adam-glanzman/) ## Adam Glanzman Aug 29, 2014 6:01 PM UTC by [Adam Glanzman](https://time.com/author/adam-glanzman/) ## Adam Glanzman Aug 29, 2014 6:01 PM UTC If you thought the coolest application of a 3-D printer was creating a [miniature model of yourself](http://time.com/3206731/3d-scanner/) to show to your friends, then NASA has just proven you wrong. Two 3-D printed rocket injectors were recently successfully tested by NASA at the Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Alabama. These powerful injectors mix liquid nitrogen and hydrogen to produce a combustion that can reach temperatures over 6,000 degrees Fahrenheit and generate over 20,000 pounds of thrust. It sounds simple enough — the injectors’ design was entered into a 3-D printer’s computer, and the printer then built each part through a process known as selective laser melting. “We wanted to go a step beyond just testing an injector and demonstrate how 3-D printing could revolutionize rocket designs,” said Chris Singer, director of Marshall’s Engineering Directorate. With conventional manufacturing methods, the rocket injectors would require the creation and assembly of 163 individual pieces; with the 3-D printer, only 2 pieces were necessary. This unique method not only saved scientists and engineers time and money, it is also less likely to fail than the traditionally-built piece. ## Transcript [ NOISE ] ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/3222331/nasa-3d-printed-rocket/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/3222331/nasa-3d-printed-rocket/"},"headline":"Watch NASA Test These 3D-Printed Rocket Parts","datePublished":"2014-08-29T18:01:32.000Z","dateModified":"2026-10-01T08:58:13.232Z","description":"3-D printers can bring rockets to space.","url":"https://time.com/3222331/nasa-3d-printed-rocket/","keywords":["Technology","NASA","Science topic","3D printing","rocket"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blte2db87cd1db285ce/6986a17a06f2c18056330812/nasa-3d-printing.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Adam Glanzman","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/adam-glanzman/"}],"articleSection":"Science","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blte2db87cd1db285ce/6986a17a06f2c18056330812/nasa-3d-printing.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"nasa-3d-printing","caption":"Engineers just completed hot-fire testing with two 3-D printed rocket injectors","creditText":"David Olive—NASA","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/science/","name":"Science"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"/tag/technology/","name":"Technology"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/3222331/nasa-3d-printed-rocket/","name":"Watch NASA Test These 3D-Printed Rocket Parts"}}]},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"VideoObject","name":"3-D Printed Rocket Injector Roars to Life","description":"3-D Printed Rocket Injector Roars to Life","thumbnailUrl":"https://cdn.jwplayer.com/v2/media/HQYs0ioB/poster.jpg?width=720","uploadDate":"2014-08-29T17:45:24.000Z","contentUrl":"https://cdn.jwplayer.com/manifests/HQYs0ioB.m3u8","embedUrl":"https://time.com/3222331/nasa-3d-printed-rocket/","duration":"PT14S","potentialAction":{"@type":"SeekToAction","target":"https://time.com/3222331/nasa-3d-printed-rocket/?jw_start={seek_to_second_number}","startOffset-input":"required name=seek_to_second_number"}}] ```